Afraid Of The Dark
by Micktrex
Summary: After a long summer of slayer bonding, Buffy prepares to start college as Faith decides whether she has greater aspirations of her own. Meanwhile, an unfathomable, omnipotent evil is descending Sunnydale into a terrifying world of shadows and madness.
1. Cemetery Blues

**Author's Notes: So this isn't the next instalment of Not My Generation, I know. Don't think I've abandoned that story because I haven't; I've just had a bit of writer's block. In the meantime this AU concept has been rattling around in my head and hopefully it will be able to stand by itself just as NMG has. Always appreciate feedback, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Apart from the monsters I invent. They're all mine.**

**A.U (Alternate Universe) Set after season 3 where Faith killed Finch but never turned evil and aided Buffy in the fight against the Mayor.**

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**Cemetery Blues**

"So...you ready?" Faith asked, her words echoing loudly as she fixed her companion with a hard, challenging stare.

"Oh, I was born ready." Buffy bit back as she matched her opponent's gaze with equal intensity, ignoring the perspiration accumulating on her forehead. Faith's eyes flickered down momentarily then narrowed menacingly across to Buffy.

"Do you..." she paused dramatically, "...have any fours?"

"Go fish." Buffy declared with a big, smug smile on her face as she watched Faith stubbornly pick a card from the deck. She tugged casually at the hem of her strappy top in hopes of warding off some of the stifling heat.

"Do you have any Js?" Buffy inquired enthusiastically. The incredulous look engraved on her friend's features told Buffy she had said something incredibly stupid.

"...jokers?" She guessed with a hopeful but uncertain smile. Faith growled in frustration, throwing her cards into the air. "Hey! This was your idea you know. I wanted to play Texas hold 'em." Buffy complained lamely as she idly shuffled her cards.

"You can't play poker, B. You flipped out and accused me of cheating." Faith breathed exasperatedly as she banged her head against the tombstone behind her.

"I didn't flip." Buffy huffed petulantly. "I just don't get how an ace can be the highest and lowest card at the same time!"

"And like I said last week, I didn't make the rules."

Buffy let out a tremendous sigh and directed the flow of air upwards in an attempt her to stave off the heat that caused her bangs to cling to her skin like threads of glue.

"This is ridiculous." Buffy whined as her hair proceeded to fall back against her face. "This place is dead. No pun intended." She added at Faith's amused smirk.

"It's been a quiet couple of weeks I'll give you that." Faith added in a low voice as she stared up at the cloudless, starry heavens.

"That would explain why we have the time to...well, do anything we like." Buffy realised as she gestured with the pack of playing cards. "I guess we wore out the neighbourhood." She sounded almost dejected by the lack of attention from the denizens of hell.

"And yet here I sit on-" Faith turned to view her chosen headstone, "-Mary Evans, spending it in a graveyard." She quipped drolly, fanning her face with a hand of cards. Her declining love affair with leather had been catalysed by the incredible heat wave that had settled over Sunnydale for the better part of a month. Wearing the least constrictive clothing possible had replaced Faith's daily ritual of looking promiscuous. To Buffy, it felt almost perverse to see Faith sitting before her in a thin-strapped, summer top and frilly, patterned skirt that ended just below her knees. Even the boots were gone—replaced by sandals—it wasn't like they'd needed to do any vigorous kicking lately. Buffy realised her glazed expression gave the impression she was gawking at her brunette counterpart and she tore her eyes away quickly; coughing in embarrassment. Faith was fortunately stargazing again and hadn't noticed the peculiar behaviour.

"I'm sweaty. And so are the cards." Buffy announced with slight disgust. "Since it's another bumpless night I say we call it quits."

Despite the dissatisfaction of the eventless evening, Faith nodded in agreement and rose from the dry bed of grass and leaves.

"Maybe we should go on strike." Faith mused as she stretched with a yawn. "Ya know, like, form a union or somethin'. Demand at least one supernatural confrontation a fortnight."

"What exactly would that achieve?" Buffy pointed out as she put the deck of playing cards away in her bag, along with a stake that hadn't seen the inside of a vampire's chest cavity in far too long.

"Big fat nothin'." Faith shrugged honestly as she took tentative steps with legs that hadn't seen any form of exercise in the last four hours. "But at least I could spend my evenings with an electric fan and an ice bath."

Buffy's brow crinkled in bemusement at the image conjured by Faith's words before following her fellow slayer. They travelled in silence between endless rows of the granite and marble stone; Faith hopping over the odd headstone that got in interrupted her path.

"Least you won't have anything to distract you from the wild, sorority parties you'll know doubt be inviting me too." Faith beamed widely with a tenacious glint in her eye. Buffy rolled her eyes at the teasing brunette.

"Rrrright. Because when you think of a college education you think free alcohol."

"Don't forget gettin' free and loose with a couple of frat boys." Faith wriggled her eyebrows and grinned; unabashed by her implications.

After knowing Faith and her mannerisms for almost a year, it amazed Buffy just how easily the younger slayer could make her blush. Luckily the lack of light and the flush across her cheeks caused by the insane temperature masked Buffy's embarrassment.

"You nervous?" Faith asked sincerely.

"A little I guess." Buffy shrugged noncommittally as she avoided looking at Faith. "Here's the thing. Vampires, demons and the end of the world—I breeze. Books, a social life and the crushing inferiority complex that comes with learning—I start to hyperventilate."

"Ah, you'll be fine, B." Faith elbowed the blonde jovially. "Beats workin' a dead end job that's for sure. A degree in—anything—starts to look good after a few weeks."

"No one forced you to get a job, Faith." Buffy laughed warmly.

"Yeah I know. Just didn't seem right moochin' off your mom like that." Faith shrugged dismissively, suddenly appearing very shy as she occupied her hands by playing with her stake.

"You do realise your rent ends up coming to me in a roundabout way, right? You might as well just pay me upfront." Buffy stated cheekily, feigning a look of innocence.

"I'm not gonna even tell you what image that conjured for me." Faith snickered with a shrewd glance in Buffy's direction. "Besides," She added, "If I make enough money I could get my own place. Then you wouldn't have to break the bathroom door off its hinges every time I beat you to the shower." Faith narrowed hey eyes accusingly at the other slayer.

"That only happened—like—one time!" Buffy defended indignantly.

"Well, either way, it'd be nice to have my own home sweet home—one that doesn't smell like a gas station bathroom or prostitutes." Faith mused darkly, referring to her unhappy history with cheap motels.

Buffy chewed her lip, hesitant to speak her mind before she caved and added, "Faith, about that. You know you're welcome to—"

"Oh wow!" Faith erupted suddenly as a rare and unexpected rush of cool air flowed past the two girls. "Did you feel that?"

"Uh huh. The wind." Buffy nodded, unimpressed and irritated at being cut off mid-sentence. "Sometimes it even changes direction, but I hear that causes facial paralysis."

"Oh god, this is heaven." Faith ignored Buffy as she basked in the blast of cold air, arms wide open as if she were trying to embrace it like a loved one.

"Jeez, man up, East Coast!" Buffy snorted as she shoved Faith playfully in the side. Caught off balance in her moment of ecstasy, Faith plummeted sideways to the ground.

"Uncool, B." Faith sulked as she sprung back up on her feet and brushed herself off. "You know one of these days you'll have to pick on someone your own size and when that happens—"

Buffy, who had been in the process of forming a clever retort, watched as Faith's face froze as a series of expressions contorted it. At first her brow knitted together in a look of extreme apprehension. This was followed instantaneously by one of growing fear as her eyes widened noticeably, before narrowing in bewilderment. Buffy watched as Faith slowly mouthed the words, 'what the fuck'.

"What?" Buffy asked alarmed by the stiff, alert posture of her friend that had struck without warning, "Faith, what is it?"

"I thought I saw—" Faith cut off abruptly as she took a sudden step forward as if trying to get a closer look at something; her eyes squinting through the dark.

"Faith, stop it you're freaking me out!" Buffy whispered frantically, unaware she was even doing so. She strained her eyes to try and catch a glimpse of whatever it was that had Faith's attention. Eventually Faith's body returned to a comfortable stance and she exhaled slowly. Her eyes were still fixated on a spot some distance away.

"I thought I saw something." She said after gulping dryly. Her voice betrayed her forced calm—she was clearly afraid. "Near that crypt." Faith pointed to an area where, after a moment of adjusting her eyes, Buffy saw the bowing branches of a Weeping Willow resting beside an unremarkable crypt and several headstones, one topped with a praying angel that towered over the others.

"Well let's go check it out then!" Buffy said with a hint of excitement. However, as she began to move towards the crypt she was stopped by Faith's sudden grip on her shoulder.

"Wait!" Faith cried out in a manner that, if Buffy didn't know any better, revealed a sense of genuine fear. The slayer shot her companion a weird look.

"Are you...scared?" Buffy tested, careful not to sound too accusing.

"No!" Faith snapped so quickly that her body language shifted from one portraying all the signs of unease and fright, to one of indignation at an attack on her pride. Before Buffy could react her flustered friend was striding purposefully across the grounds to the origin of her unknown sighting. Buffy caught up at a jogging pace and joined Faith in searching the immediate area.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Buffy asked curiously after examining the inside of the mausoleum and finding nothing but cobwebs and the remains of its owner. When Faith didn't reply she realised the younger girl was off in her own little world. Buffy whistled and Faith's head shot up.

"Uh, I don't know. I didn't get a great look at it. It was quick. There...and then I blinked..." She continued to stare at a spot beside an anonymous tombstone. "It was on the short side if that helps. No taller than one of these." She gestured toward the gravestones.

"So we're hunting for Creepy the dwarf." Buffy paused in frowning thought. "Saying that out loud was a lot less funny than I thought it would be."

A loud rustling caused both girls to spin around in a defensive pose. Something was moving noisily through the branches of the neighbouring tree. Buffy exchanged a wordless command to Faith and she nodded back. The elder slayer edged closer to the trunk of the tree; it's low hanging foliage brushing against her head and shoulders. Looking up into the dark mass of branches Buffy dared anything to pounce down on her at that moment.

She took a deep breath, prepared herself, and then lashed out with a powerful kick that shook the tree violently, sending leaves and twigs cascading down to earth as a loud, shrieking cry signalled the departure of the tree's inhabitant. Faith watched it land heavily upon the head of the stone angel, cawing angrily down at both of them. Buffy's giggle broke the silence.

"Pretty sure ravens aren't listed in the 'tide of evil' part of our contract." Buffy joked despite the unreadable expression etched on Faith.

Faith hadn't seen a raven. She was positive she hadn't seen a raven. What she'd witnessed had barely reflected the meagre moonlight that highlighted every other surface across the vast graveyard. It had stood out like an inky blotch on iridescent, white paper. A shadow darker than every other in close vicinity. But the more she regarded the crow as it pruned its feathers haughtily atop the carved angel's head, the more Faith doubted herself. It was possible her mind was now inventing enemies where there were none to appease her slayer instincts. Relenting to fatigue, frustration and dehydration, Faith turned to her disappointed friend with a thin smile.

"Guess my eyes are playin' tricks on me..." Faith concluded. "Sorry if I got you all riled up there, Buff."

"It's fine." Buffy's long, wistful sigh said otherwise. "This way I miss out on unfun mortal wounds and scrapes. It's wrong that I'm nostalgic, isn't it?"

Faith was still drawn to the same anonymous tombstone where she thought she'd seen something wholly unfriendly. She eventually turned to her fellow slayer and shrugged.

"I can't exactly be Judge Judy. Apparently I miss killing things so much I'm seein' mirages, so I guess we're both pretty F-ed in the head." She confessed awkwardly as they headed back on their previous course.

"I don't think they work at night." Buffy pointed out unhelpfully. Faith's hard, impatient look demonstrated how easily she could be agitated in the current weather. "Fineeee." Buffy sighed, "Point taken. We're both jonesing for a dose of demon abuse." She cocked her head to the side thoughtfully and wondered aloud, "Maybe we could fight regular criminals." Her eyes lit up as this new strategy dawned on her.

"Nice idea 'cept for the part where the police already do that _**and**_ get paid." Faith said as she twirled her stake restlessly in one hand. Buffy opened her mouth to speak then frowned.

"It worries me when even you spot things I don't notice." Buffy admitted with seemingly genuine concern. She narrowly avoided the fist aimed at her and was assaulted by a crude hand gesture instead.

As the pair found the familiar gravel path that led to the cemetery's wrought iron gate, where looming gargoyles perched menacingly on each pillar, an unknown force caused them to shudder internally and unexpectedly. They both felt something that neither had experienced for an entire week—an overpowering, unequivocal sensation that spread from the pit of their gut through to every extremity—causing a tightness of the chest and a raising of hair on the back of the neck that created the instinctive impulse to look over one's shoulder.

Buffy and Faith turned simultaneously, peering back into the charnel shadows of the immense graveyard. The grounds seemed suddenly very quiet as the pair trained their ears for any sign of a threat. A look was exchanged in silence until finally Buffy cracked a smile.

"See, you're even getting me spooked now!" she chastised playfully, succeeding in defusing the tension that rested in Faith's dark features.

"Crazy heat and a no slay make Faith a paranoid schizophrenic." Faith pouted as the heat and frustration now utterly conquered her will to stay in this place of dead people a moment longer.

"Come on, Jack." Buffy coaxed in a soothing tone as she guided Faith with one arm on her back. "Let's get you back to the mansion before you freeze. Well, in this case, melt."

"That's what the J's stand for by the way." Faith explained. She rested her head on Buffy's shoulder, stifling a yawn as they walked out onto the sidewalk of a well-lit, empty street.

"Really? Huh. So do the K's stand for like...Karl?" Faith let out a groan of despair and feigned sobbing. "I'm kidding!"

Buffy and Faith continued their journey home —conversing on topics concerning the possibility of an ice cream shop being open at such a late hour, and if there was a national demonic holiday they weren't aware of.

They had already forgotten the unmistakable look of terror on Faith's face for that split second back at the cemetery.

They were oblivious to the lingering sense that they were being watched.


	2. Haunted

**Author's Note:**** Hello again, I have an update for all you loyal readers. I've managed to find time to write this in between other things so I hope it appears as up to scratch as my usual stuff. Enjoy and review!**

**Disclaimer:**** I own none of these characters except those personally created by myself.**

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**Haunted**

Buffy stepped cautiously through the busy corridors and hallways of UC Sunnydale, minding herself against every other body that rushed by with urgent purpose. Everything felt loud and new and frightening. Buffy found herself regressing to the years of high school where social awkwardness and constant fear reigned supreme—though the Hellmouth got the majority of credit for the latter.

"Come on, Buffy!"

Hearing a friendly and familiar voice, Buffy turned expectantly to find Willow scooting past her with confidence abound. The cheery redhead shifted the collection of books in her arms and gave Buffy a beaming smile, gesturing her to follow.

"Where are we going?" Buffy asked nervously, trailing her friend as best she could through the bustling crowd. For a dreadful moment Buffy lost sight of her and had to scan the hallway frantically for a glimpse of her illusive Wiccan friend.

"Buffy, over here!"

Buffy caught a glimpse of red hair disappearing through a doorway right at the end of the corridor. How had she gotten to the end of the hall so quickly? Thought Buffy, puzzled by her friend's ability to navigate this new and unfamiliar environment with apparent ease. It took a lot longer for Buffy to reach the doorway herself and panic began to set in at the prospect of being late for her first lesson.

Tentatively, Buffy stepped towards the threshold. The steep rows of chattering students in the large lecture room appeared harmless enough but something caused her to pause. Buffy held her notebook tightly to her chest and chewed on her bottom lip as the sounds of the crowded hallway began to die out behind her. She turned, discovering she was now alone in an empty corridor that seemed a lot longer and imposing than before. Facing the door again, Buffy saw a small lamented sign beside it that she hadn't paid any attention to prior. Her jaw dropped in shock and disbelief as she realised it read:

'Vampires 101'

Buffy's sensitive ears pricked up at the unmistakable sound of whispering and restrained giggling. She suddenly felt very exposed and assumed someone had noticed her hovering pathetically outside in the corridor. If this was a practical joke she wasn't amused. With a duty to guard her slayer pride, Buffy puffed out her chest and stepped through into the cavernous room.

Descending the stairs to where Willow sat wasn't as humiliating as she thought it would be, as the entire assembly had fallen silent instantaneously when she entered, and were all fixated upon a man leaning against a polished desk at the bottom of the expansive room. As Buffy squeezed passed a few seated students and sat beside Willow she got a better look at the man she assumed was her lecturer. Her brow wrinkled with bemusement as she noticed the leather duster adorned by the stocky, handsome man and the graduation cap perched comically on his head. If this was some kind of start of term gag Buffy wasn't clued in on then he was doing an amazing job of hiding it; Buffy had never seen someone look so bored.

"If you could all please take out your textbooks we shall begin." He droned, in a tone that personified indifference.

"Oh..." Buffy realised with sudden panic that she didn't have a textbook.

"Its fine, you can share mine." Willow chirped, seemingly reading her mind whilst still in an extremely happy mood.

"Thanks..." Buffy glanced suspiciously at her neighbour.

A loud thwack against the mammoth blackboard at the front of the class got Buffy's instant attention.

"This...will be today's lesson." Announced the lecturer, "I have a feeling some of you will be better prepared than others." A ripple of laughter filled the room and Buffy's jaw dropped completely at what was written across the board. In impossibly large, chalky letters stood the sentence:

"DATING THE UNDEAD: STUPID, UNPROFESSIONAL AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY'VE BEEN!"

"Turn to page 19," instructed the lecturer in a tone that bordered on sardonic, "I'm sure you'll find the text there...enlightening."

"Wha...wha...wha—?" spluttered Buffy as she frenetically tore through the book, finding offensive jabs at her previous relationship wherever she looked:

'It could have been worse: At least you're not a virgin anymore!'

'What kind of name is Angel anyway?'

'Older men are overrated, girlfriend!"

As Buffy's rage seethed inside her like a brewing tempest, the chosen one shot to her feet, unintentionally crushing the book's spine in her vice-like grip. She sent a twitching glare down at the man who'd been unsubtly mocking her. The capped professor smiled smugly back up at her and Buffy decided then and there that homicide wasn't beyond her capibilities.

"What's the matter, miss?"

"This. Book. Is..." She paused to find the most fitting word. "Crap!"

"I'm sorry to hear you think that. But what, exactly, do you think you can do about it?" The question hung thickly in the air and as Buffy stood, processing the insanity taking place, she felt the eyes of every student focused solely on her.

"I can suggest a new location for it." Buffy's eyes narrowed tightly as she spoke through a clenched jaw. Buffy heard someone giggle and her gaze flickered in the direction of the malicious sound. There was no one there.

The entire lecture room was empty, save the familiar presence of Willow by her side. Buffy blinked and looked back down at the Professor to discover he'd vanished too.

More disturbingly, the blackboard had expanded across the entirety of the room, covering every wall and even the ceiling. As Buffy stood to face the exit she realised even the door had dematerialised. A more peculiar sight came in the form of green shoots piercing their way through the floor and steadily transforming the carpeted stairs into a grassy slope. Moss crept across the floor as weeds grew quickly up between the seats.

It dawned on Buffy that if the lights were out she shouldn't be able to see. That's when she noticed the large moon etched in stunning realism on the blackboard. With a gasp, she realised she was gazing at a clear night sky; stars littered the heavens as they came into sparkling focus.

"Uh, Willow..." Buffy said slowly as a thick mist began to roll across the transforming floor and flow up the stairs, step by step. "...why are you not wigging out right now?"

Willow said nothing, seemingly engrossed in the textbook.

Half the seats were now missing— tombstones in place of the now vacant spaces.

As Buffy rubbed her arms for warmth something shiny caught her eye. Focusing on the spot way down at the bottom of the vast—steadily expanding—space, Buffy realised one gravestone in particular stood out amongst the rest. It was resting by itself on the grassy mounds that had consumed the lecturer's desk and chair, and was at an angle compared to the stiff rows of its cousins. It was also facing Buffy directly—the shine was an attribute to whatever had been engraved on the stone.

After hesitating for a minute, curiosity got the better of the slayer and she slowly made her way through the growing mist to the alluring headstone. A strange repetitive sound was just audible through the now fog-shrouded room. She dropped to her knees in front of the unimpressive slither of stone, waving a way the swirling mist, Buffy squinted to make out the words on the engraving.

It read:

'I'm leaving.'

"Is this really happening?" Buffy echoed the words that she'd once asked in heartbreak. Her head began to feel faint as a devastating surge of emotion caused silent tears to trail across her haunted features. She felt sad; more broken than when Angel left; more distraught than when her Father abandoned her. The misery, anger and resentment grew palpable and Buffy couldn't stop the tears that now cascaded freely down her cheeks. The repetitive droning around her had gained speed and volume. The hairs on the back of Buffy's neck rose as she realised the sound was a combination of whispering and maniacal giggling. There was no pause for breath, no recognisable words, no sense of genuine amusement—just a mocking semblance of human laughter.

Without warning Buffy was thrust backwards with tremendous force into the seat she'd started in. Wide-eyed and alarmed, the winded girl tried to stand but found herself paralyzed from the neck down. As she struggled to move, a long hissing breath was exhaled beside her and a fractured, barely coherent voice spoke sharply in her left ear.

"...you...should not...be...here..."

Buffy slowly turned to look at her friend and screamed at the sight of what sat in her place.

Buffy woke with a jolt. Her breath came out in ragged, strained bursts and a slick film of sweat coated her skin, saturating her pyjama top. She sat for what felt like an eternity in the dark, her nightmare still fresh in the recesses of her mind, the details swimming and surfacing causing her to shudder uncontrollably. As her chest began to settle, Buffy realised she was upright in her bed. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself, wiping the sweat from her forehead, her hands forming a comforting shield over her delicate features. With surprise she noticed her face was wet with genuine tears. She wiped them away slowly, remembering just how potent the emotions had been in her dream.

Buffy dropped her hands into her lap and accustomed herself to the shadows of her room, wanting to escape her own head. Another unexpected shiver shot through her slender frame. She stood up abruptly, crossing the room in two strides. Buffy turned on the light, unwilling to stay in the darkness alone.

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The fetid stink of rotting garbage assaulted her nostrils.

Damp filth squelched and crunched beneath her boots.

An overwhelming sensation she was being watched by the eternal stare of a dead man.

Faith's breath hissed between her clenched teeth as her chest tightened in fear, the familiar sense of dread and guilt swelling uncomfortably inside her as it twisted through her body.

Faith was in the one place she abhorred the most. She begged her mind to take her somewhere else—anywhere else. Her fractured childhood home was welcome in place of this personal hell. Yet despite her silent pleas Faith knew she couldn't escape.

She waited in the unbearable silence that always accompanied the cold.

"Faaaaithhh..."

The trembling girl refused to move as the sickly, sinister voice toyed with her name. She heard it intake a long, gagging breath that stretched on forever and left her shaking worse than ever when the alley echoed the awful sound.

"Look at me, Faith..."

She faced him.

His lips were still and his expression blank. But Faith knew it was him calling her. She'd never heard his real voice save the last few terrified syllables that left his quivering mouth before he died. In a way, Faith wished she had known it, for the one her subconscious had replaced it with was as chilling a design as her imagination could create.

She continued to stare down at Finch's lifeless body. The man she'd killed without hesitation. The one who'd brought her reckless abandon to a crashing halt. The Mayor's assistant who'd tried to help only to meet the sharp end of a stake. Faith stared at the gaping wound in the man's chest. She did what she always did. Stepping close to the slumped form, Faith lowered gradually to her haunches and was forced to reach out and touch the wet spot where blood seeped through the man's crisp, white shirt. A wave of nausea shot through her. She swallowed hard and made herself close his eyelids, taking care to be as respectful as possible. Faith studied the dead man's features for a moment as it began to rain.

"I'm sorry." Faith's voice cracked on the last word, her throat dry and scratchy as she finally tore her eyes away from the source of the guilt that writhed uncontrollably inside her gut.

Thunder cracked deafeningly above her.

"Where... are you going?" A hand shot out, grabbing her wrist and pulling her down to within an inch of a pale, clammy face. Faith almost choked in shock, her eyes unable to look away from the furious, contorted expression that roared one word with livid intensity, "MURDERER!"

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Faith lay panting in the dark, air rushing from her lungs in erratic bursts. Her eyes darted around the narrow, dark alley, waiting for Finch to lunge from the shadows and avenge his untimely death. As she adjusted to her surroundings Faith realised with a great exhalation of air that she was in Buffy's guest room—her room—safe from the insanity of her unconscious mind.

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and walked to her dresser. Faith had spent the majority of the summer sleeping nude thanks to the most humid month in Sunnydale's history, but knew better than to leave her room naked in someone else's house. Well, after that first awkward encounter with Xander on the stairs she'd learnt to adhere to a more acceptable dress code. Finding boxers and a vest top, Faith ventured out onto the landing, taking her time not to make excessive noise as she tiptoed to the bathroom.

As cold water cooled her flushed skin, Faith sighed with relief, banishing the unwelcome images that still lingered in her throbbing head.

"It wasn't your fault...it wasn't your fault...it wasn't your fault." Faith chanted shakily to herself, bowing her head against her chest as she gripped the sides of the porcelain sink.

"Yes...it was..."

Faith's eyes shot open as her mind processed the quiet words that had seemingly been snarled from the darkness. The slayer suddenly wondered with growing fear why she hadn't bothered to turn the light on. That's when she noticed the reflection of the glowing bulb in the mirror. It was on—but it was barely illuminating an inch in any direction.

"You should rot!" Faith's gaze flickered to her own reflection, frozen in terror; she was certain her mouth had moved of its own accord. The shadowy imitation stared back; the ivory gleam of its eyes and teeth frighteningly distinct in the small, dark room.

"...you-should-rot-in-hell-you-WORTHLESS-WHORE!" The mirror exploded outwards in a shower of glass; jagged shards embedding themselves into Faith as she fell screaming to the floor.

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Faith woke abruptly, sprawled on Buffy's bathroom floor; the cold tiles proving a rude awakening as they pressed against her bare back. She blinked. Then frantically ran her hands across her torso and face; breathing a sigh of relief when she found no glass shrapnel protruding from her body. Resting her head back against the soft bathroom rug Faith laid in silence listening to the erratic thump of her heart vibrating in her aching head.

A soft creak caught Faith's attention. She angled her head awkwardly on the floor until a lone figure came into view.

"How you doing down there?" Buffy asked as her head cocked to the side to better match Faith's peculiar position.

"Oh, you know, five by floor." Faith deadpanned, "You?"

"Can't sleep." Buffy shrugged lightly, then turning sheepish under Faith's curious stare and coyly added, "I had a bad dream."

* * *

"...and then I was back next to Willow and she said something...but when I looked at her..." Buffy's face scrunched up in thought as she tried to remember what she'd seen. An involuntary shudder ran down her spine. "...I don't know what happened. I just remember waking up terrified out of my mind. I've not had a nightmare this bad since I was six and dreamt that my bed was trying to eat me." She narrowed her eyes at Faith's fleeting grin of amusement. "What? It was traumatizing!"

"No, I believe you. It's not that." Faith explained, casually spinning her beer's cap on the kitchen island's smooth surface. "I just can't get over you studying up on...the A-word."

Faith had found Buffy's retelling of her Angel-oriented dream mostly hilarious; much to Buffy's chagrin.

"It's not that funny." Buffy practically growled as she cradled her cup of hot chocolate.

"Seeing as his name's been forbidden from polite conversation since Sunny High went sky high, it's kinda funny to know he's still rattlin' around up there." Faith snickered from her seat on the opposite side of the island. She took a swig of her beer before continuing with, "Gravestones and creepy, cryptic messages aside, I'm just bummed I never got to see your face."

Buffy glared ominously, sending her friend into another fit of stifled laughter, snorting as she tried to contain her mirth with one hand.

"I'm going to bed." Buffy stated in full on sulk mode.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Faith shot her hand out turning Buffy back round to face her. "I'm sorry. I'll behave. Call me...Mrs Sensitivity."

"Right." Buffy frowned. "I don't get why you'd rather drink that than hot cocoa." She said conversationally, skilfully changing the topic of interest, "Anyone who turns down mini marshmallows should be deemed legally insane."

"It's taking the edge off my nightmare-induced migraine." Faith supplied whilst resting the cold surface of the bottle against her temple.

"That bad, huh?" Buffy asked with controlled concern.

"I really...really don't wanna talk about it." Faith sighed, suppressing the imagery that tried to claw her mind back down that dark, forsaken alley. Buffy didn't look pleased with her secrecy; Faith had been very vague on the details of how she'd ended up on her bathroom floor. But with Faith's stubbornness being as legendary as her ability to casually disregard pain and misery, Buffy knew pressing her on the subject would be pointless.

"So..."Buffy trailed off in thought after a pregnant pause. Her fingernails tapped idly against the ceramic mug. "Wacky coincidence or serious slayer dream intent on creeping us out? Discuss."

"Coincidence."

"Really?" Buffy asked with surprise at the girl's answer. Faith rolled her eyes at the blonde's gullibility.

"It's Sunnydale, Buffy. When is it ever just a coincidence or an accident or a gang on pcp?"

"Well there was that one time when that guy tripped neck first on to a barbeque fork..." Buffy drifted off timidly under the cynical stare of the other slayer. "Point taken." Buffy mumbled with slight embarrassment at her naivety. "It'd be nice if it was though—a coincidence I mean. I was starting to get used to the easy life."

"Well we wanted action and now we've got it." Faith stated dryly, raising her hands in a shrugging gesture. Her brow furrowed suddenly and she added, "Speaking of which...gravestones...seeing things...I'm gettin' wicked déjà vu here."

"What? Last week? Faith, it was a bird! Albeit a big, unfriendly bird in a graveyard at night, but since it didn't try to tear our throats out I'm not losing any sleep." Buffy blinked at her choice of words. "You know what I mean."

Faith sighed in frustration, drinking the dregs of her beverage.

"I guess." She grumbled not fully convinced. "Pretty weird coincidence though."

"You'd be amazed how many of my dreams involve cemeteries." Buffy stated impassively, a small smile stretching her lips. "Really, don't worry. Hot summer plus lack of action equals overactive slayer brain." Buffy smirked reassuringly.

"You're probably right." Faith sighed grudgingly. "But there is one thing that still bugs me..."

"What?" Buffy asked with a hint of impatience.

"How do we know we're not still dreaming?" she stated in a deep, dramatic voice, raising her eyebrows for added effect.

The posed question hovered in the silence between them and a sense of unease crept up the slayers' spines before Buffy cut the tension with a well-rounded punch to Faith's forearm.

"What the f u—?"

"I was just checking!" Buffy exclaimed in defence.

"It's pinch." Faith growled through gritted teeth. "Not punch!"

"Slayer strength. I had to improvise to make sure you'd feel it." Buffy stated matter-of-factly as she innocently sipped her hot beverage.

The faint sound of birdsong began to drift in over Faith's grumbled protests, hailing the arrival of the rising sun. Buffy noted the brightening colour of the sky and realised it must of been later than she first imagined.

"I need to sleep. I've gotta start packing tomorrow or I'll never move into my dorm on time." Buffy rose from her stool, taking Faith's bottle and dumping it in the trash on her way to put her mug in the sink.

"You still aren't packed?" Faith asked in disbelief.

"Well...I've been busy!" Faith gave the defiant older girl an unconvinced look. Buffy cracked under the weight of Faith's gaze. "Fine! So I haven't been that busy with there being a general lack of evil lately, but...but I have been doing...things!"

"Like...?" Faith queried with a smug little smile. She relished the turmoil taking place in Buffy's features as she desperately tried to find an excuse.

"Well..." Buffy looked conflicted with what she was about to say, then as her expression dissolved into dawning realisation, she said, "...I've been busy with you."

Faith blinked as her mouth hung loosely open, apparently devoid of either a snarky or flirtatious comment for the first time in Buffy's company.

"Spending time with you, I mean." Buffy hastily interjected, looking oddly flustered. "You know...slaying and... more recently not slaying."

"Yeah, course." Faith added. She coughed to hide the unusually husky tone of her voice. "Anyway, I can help with the packing. Seems fair since I'm getting your room."

Buffy let out a scathing laugh, "Ch-yeah! Keep dreaming, bud."

"Oh I will. Me and Mr Gordo are gonna get real acquainted." Faith smirked, swivelling on her seat as she leaned back casually on the island and observed the blonde coolly.

"Sicko!" Buffy exclaimed with genuine appal. "As if I'd leave him to be corrupted by you. He's coming with me."

"Because taking a stuffed toy to college doesn't scream freshman at all." Faith sneered sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.

The back door abruptly rattled in its frame making both girls jump.

"Sheesh, must be windy out there." Buffy joked nervously, evidently still on edge from the night's events. Faith turned pale and slowly looked at Buffy.

"What wind? It's like the Amazon out there."

The two girls exchanged a long, silent look, neither willing to move.

"I'll let you have my room if you sleep with me tonight."Buffy bargained unexpectedly with a tone that practically bordered on pleading. "No sex jokes!"

Faith, who had gleefully opened her mouth to say something insinuating and dirty, shut her mouth and scowled moodily at the blonde standing in front of her.

"You've got a weapon's chest in there still, right?"

"Yeah..." Buffy replied hesitantly, eyeing Faith anxiously as an impish smirk graced the younger girl's face.

"Deal."


	3. Fresh Meat

**A.N: I have no idea how long it's been since I've updated both my stories. But I'm still alive — these stories are still alive, and they will be written till the very end.**

**Having a rough knowledge of Season 4's first episode will help explain some of the dialogue in this chapter. The eagle-eyed of you will even notice the title for this chapter is a play on the episode's name.**

**I hope you all had a great Christmas and have a Happy New Year. **

**Enjoy.**

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**Fresh Meat**

Buffy's eyelids fluttered open as slithers of the morning sun shone harshly through the gaps in her blinds. Blinking her eyes into focus she was eventually greeted by the flirtatious smirk of her bed's other occupant.

"Sleeping beauty awakens..." Faith teased a barely conscious Buffy. Her eyes squinted and blinked in confusion as she tried to remember why Faith was in her bed. "And I didn't even have to kiss ya."

"Urrrh furh wurh murhnn." Buffy grumbled face-first into her pillow.

"Or should that be beast?" Faith wondered with mock disgust, narrowly dodging the arm that was swung lazily in the direction of her face.

Faith stretched languorously across the bed, her back arching as she straightened her arms above her head, interlacing her fingers and cracking her joints audibly.

"Whyyy?" Buffy groaned as she stuffed the pillow around her head.

"You break bones for a living! Don't be such a girl." Faith continued popping each of her knuckles one by one, her grin growing with the intensity of her friend's glare.

"It's unnecessary." Buffy whined in agitation as she clung to her soft and silent companion, willing it to supply the comforting numbness of sleep that she had departed from only moments ago. "I let you share this bed under the pretence you'd hold back on your habits until you were finally out of it."

"Where's the fun in that?"

Buffy sighed exasperatedly, retreating to the sanctuary of her makeshift pillow helmet, mumbling something along the lines of 'too early for this crap' into her mattress.

"Definitely not a mornin' person then?" Faith cocked an eyebrow upward as she lay on her side, resting her chin atop her closed fist, surveying the grouchy blonde stoically.

"Not when you've been elbowed repeatedly in the ribs for hours on end."

"I like to spread." Faith lightly shrugged with a nonchalant expression.

"Like that's news..." Buffy muttered snidely. Faith's offended expression was priceless.

"Just so you know, the next time we both have horrifying nightmares, you're sleeping alone." Faith retorted sullenly. The limber girl sprung out of bed and stretched her arms above her head once again, rising onto her tiptoes as she grunted from the exertion.

"Why are you starin' at my ass, Summers?" She asked abruptly, causing Buffy's reflection to turn a bright shade of crimson in the vanity mirror hanging in front of Faith. Faith turned her head sideways to glimpse Buffy trying to look everywhere else but at her half-naked form and a deep, throaty laugh escaped the younger slayer.

"What?" Buffy asked with confusion, apparently trying to play naive. She blinked several times in rapid succession, giving the impression she'd developed a facial twitch.

"You were starin'." Faith stated matter-of-factly, her smile growing ever smugger.

"Aha. I was not." Buffy tried to appear bored and indifferent to Faith's accusation.

"Then why so red?" Faith instantly challenged with one raised eyebrow.

"It's nothing...I...I have morning...fe...fever." Buffy rambled violently. She currently looked mortified at the words that had just left her mouth.

Faith burst into uncontrollable laughter at Buffy's feeble excuse.

"Hope it's not contagious, Buff. Big day today." Faith teased the moody blonde as she leaned against the bedstead. Her smile became more genuine and was accompanied by a look—one rarely seen on the unflappable serial-flirter—Buffy could only decipher as embarrassment. "The way I see it, you were payin' me a compliment." Faith shrugged as she coyly ran her fingers around the pattern on the bed's framework. "So...thanks."

After a moment of stony silence in which Buffy averted her gaze the entire time she finally mumbled, "You're welcome."

Faith snorted at the awkward behaviour of her prudish friend.

"You want something to drink, Casanova?"

"Yes." Buffy replied, unaccustomed to Faith offering her beverages in her own home, but humiliated enough to conceit to anything at the present time.

"Cool. I'll be back in a bit." Faith smirked slyly and suggestively added, "Feel free to watch me walk away."

Buffy huffed in indignation and threw her pillow towards Faith's retreating form; missing her target widely. She slammed herself down on the mattress, enveloping her face into the sheets to smother the blush that refused to leave her cheeks.

* * *

Even though the majority of Buffy's belongings were packed it still took most of the morning to find and pack what remained. Buffy had gone through several stages of deciding what she needed and what could be left behind. Faith had found herself contemplating suicide for nearly an hour when Buffy finally declared she was done. What resulted was a series of boxes, labelled in marker pen according to their contents, alongside a few suitcases of clothing and other essentials.

"I hope that's everything." Faith brushed her hands off on her jeans, her arms folding across her chest. "For someone so small you sure have a lot of crap."

"Shut up, Faith."

The brunette stuck her tongue out in response forcing Buffy to crack a smile. "But you're sure that's everything right? Cus I'm not dealin' with a crisis on the car ride there and bein' told to go back—"

"No, don't fret. I've triple checked and then some. 'I'm raring to go' girl."

"Sure? There's nothing else you need to take with you? My ass perhaps?" Faith suggested casually.

"I thought we'd moved on from that?" Buffy exclaimed, desperation in her tone.

"Look, I get it." Faith said as the urge to push her luck became all consuming. "The A man's been gone for months and I'm pretty sure you haven't had any since the first time he went all...grr argh—"

"Continuing that sentence will end badly for you." Buffy glared through serious eyes.

"—so it's only natural you've got more hormones than you know what do with, and me, being the closest, most attractive person in your life right now—

Faith let out a yelp as Buffy kicked her hard in the shin.

"Jeez, I'm just sayin' if you need help gettin' off I'm all hands on deck..."

Buffy threatened to kick out again and Faith hopped back a step, grinning like the devil at the sour expression on the other girl's face.

"My deck doesn't need...your hands..." Buffy lifted a heavy suitcase full of far too many clothes off of her bed and paused. "Maybe you should try elsewhere. I'm sure there's plenty of fish out there for you to handcuff to a bed."

Faith scoffed at the remark and hefted a box at random under one arm, moving toward the doorway.

"Like you can deny it!" Buffy shot Faith's back an incredulous look as she followed. "You're relentless! You have the libido of a cracked out rabbit."

"How is that a bad thing?" Faith looked sincerely confused by Buffy's statement as they descended the stairs.

"It's bad when it's a different guy every night."

"B, I'm good, but I'm not that good. And I haven't brought a single hook up back here since I moved in."

"Yeah...that's why you only come home every other night..."

"True..." Faith cocked her head, smiling fondly at evenings past that Buffy could only guess the details of, uttering a sound of disgust.

"Don't be jealoussss." Faith's top lip turned up as her tone took on a husky nature. She prodded a scowling Buffy in the side with her box as they paused in the hallway at the front of the house. "I did offer to get you in on the action, B." Faith wiggled her eyebrows receiving an eye roll from the other slayer, but missed the inner turmoil as Buffy fought the urge to smile.

'Sides...why'd you care 'bout how many guys are comin' 'n' goin' in my sack?" Faith's gaze became suddenly piercing and Buffy felt a cold shiver run down her spine.

Her mouth opened and closed like a gormless fish as she fidgeted with the suitcase in her hand. "I...don't. I don't!" She repeated herself in retaliation to the steady rise of Faith's right eyebrow. "You started it with the whole...ass-staring-no-Angel-sex-thing!" Buffy blurted out in an uncomfortable rush.

"Uh...huh." Whatever Faith wanted to say—clear from the restrained grin pressed on her lips and the way she gave Buffy a quick once over—she held her tongue and gave Buffy that inexplicable, knowing look she'd always hated.

"Anyway, we better start taking everything off—I mean out. "Buffy's eyes went wide as they betrayed her shock and embarrassment. "To the car. Outside. Not here." Buffy's shocked monotone left her shifting awkwardly back and forth on the spot before choosing to take the large cardboard box out of Faith's grasp. She marched out of the front door, leaving Faith with no option but to journey back upstairs to find something else to carry. Unfortunately for Buffy, it hadn't been enough of a distraction to hide the deep blush that had stained her cheeks.

* * *

It took fewer trips to and from the car than Faith had expected. Slayer strength had its advantages but she thought the speedy silence in which Buffy had operated since their conversation in the house had something to do with it.

Joyce had spent the day occupying herself with jobs around the house and had scarcely been seen. When the two girls walked into the kitchen they found her scrubbing a plate that was already gleaming immaculately.

"Hello, girls. Ready to go?" She asked warmly as she turned to greet the pair.

"Check, check and double check." Buffy clapped her hands together, lacing her fingers together as she leaned on the island.

"Good. So I suppose you'll be heading off soon?" Faith thought she heard the woman's voice waver. She attempted to gain some space between herself and the two Summers. Looking at her feet, Faith noticed the kitchen floor tiles were so clean she could practically see her own reflection staring back up at her.

"Uh huh. Or I could just skip the first few weeks. I'm sure they're not important." Buffy shrugged.

"Really?" Joyce barely held back the excitement conveyed in that one word.

"Joke." Buffy smiled lamely. Her eyes darted around the room unsure of what to say next.

"Oh."

"Mom? Are you okay? You seem...antsy."

"I...just." Joyce sighed and tears threatened to fall when she said, "I can't believe you're already off to college."

"Mommm, stop." Buffy pleaded gently with a warm smile on her face. "It's not like I'm moving state! You'd all die horrible supernatural deaths if I did that."

Joyce paused in her emotional outpouring to give her daughter a strange look. Buffy turned, hoping to receive encouraging words from Faith. But a similar look resided on the other slayer's face and shrugged, indicating this one was all on her.

"What I mean is...I'll be around." Buffy tried again slowly. "I'll visit every weekend. Then probably every other weekend. Eventually it'll be once a year." Buffy jested, hugging her mother tightly as Joyce chuckled at her daughter's humour.

"I know, sweetie. It's just...just..." Joyce sniffed and attempted to compose herself.

"You've still got me Ms.S." Faith winked, giving Joyce a genuine smile void of her usual cocky swagger. "And until any other generous, domestic goddesses charge rent as low as you do, I'll be here for many years to come." Her well-mannered joke served to make Joyce chuckle again and brighten slightly in her mood.

"Funny." Buffy deadpanned, eyeballing Faith shrewdly.

"I must get it from you." Faith suggested sarcastically. "Anyway, blondie, we should head if you wanna meet Red on time."

"Okay." Buffy sighed heavily, feeling a wave of sadness she hadn't noticed before. "I think if we stay here any longer there'll be a clichéd teary goodbye with hugs all round." Buffy quipped with a sideways glance at Faith.

"Hey, don't sucker me into this! This is your Dawson's Creek moment." Faith backed away in mock horror at the thought of being forced to participate in such an emotional family scene. "You can cry yourselves a big, fat river. I'll stay in the boat with the other cool kids."

Once Buffy had bid her mother goodbye for the hundredth time and promised she'd visit regularly—to the point she wondered how much time she'd actually spend on campus grounds at this rate—she packed the remaining boxes in Faith's rented and dented muscle car. At least Faith had told her it was rented. The dents and scratches on the aged vehicle were the only undeniable qualities about the car. That and the fact the CD player had been jammed by its previous owner and would only play the Greatest Ballads of Phil Collins; much to Faith's dismay.

"You know you're gonna miss me more than you think." Buffy stated out of nowhere as they travelled down the street at speeds she was sure were highly illegal. Faith seemed perfectly at ease with their nail-biting velocity causing Buffy to double-check she was wearing her seatbelt.

"Is that right?" Faith humoured her friend as she pulled out into a stream of moving traffic.

"I give it a couple of days before you're on the phone begging to know every detail of my new, exciting life." Buffy asserted confidently as she enjoyed the channel of air rushing past her open window.

"Huh. Funny. Cus that sounds nothing like me." Faith feigned shock and surprise. "I'll be too busy helpin' your Mom turn your room into a gym to remember you even left."

"Two days." Buffy repeated with a self-assured grin. "Tops. Maybe one if there's nothing good on TV." Faith laughed off Buffy's arrogant premonition and fixed the mischievous blonde with a patronising smile.

"I think I can last a week without the infamous Buffy Summers."

* * *

"So what's ya roomie like?" Faith asked, trying to keep her voice level as she fingered through the table menus beside her, "You know they'd never hold a candle to me, right?"

Buffy snorted through the receiver.

_"You leave clothes everywhere. You hoard food in your room. I once found a half-eaten burrito inside your—!"_

"I was gonna finish it!

_"It was furry!"_

"So I'm not perfect." Faith surrendered in a sulky manner.

_"Far from."_ Buffy teased. _"But yeah, she's nice. No complaints really..."_

"B. C'mon, it's me you're talkin' to here."

_"She has a Celine Dion poster and snores like a drowning pig."_ Buffy blurted out without hesitation.

"That sucks." Faith snickered, as she etched pointless doodles on a nearby napkin. "At least tell me there's some noteworthy man-candy lyin' around campus?"

_"Man-candy?"_

"The name's self serving, B. A guy ya just wanna pop straight in your mouth and su—"

_"Charming."_ Buffy hastily cut in, not needing to hear the rest of Faith's explanation. Faith smirked against the phone. _"And no. Not as such. Well, there was Eddie."_

"Eddie?"

_"Eddie and his safety blanket." _Buffy added unhelpfully.

"Sounds like a keeper." Faith remarked without a shred of interest.

_"It's Of Human Bondage."_

"Eddie's into the kink? Now I'm listenin'..."

_"It's a book, Faith."_ Buffy affirmed her wryly.

"That like S&M for dummies?" Faith appeared appalled at the concept.

_"No...it's not...never mind."_

A portly, middle-aged man with short dark hair exited the kitchen carrying three meals on a tray. When he spotted Faith lounging beside the payphone he paused to give her a look demonstrating how much he disapproved.

"Your break ended seven minutes ago, Lehane."

"Keep ya panties on, Chuck. I don't see anyone starvin' to death." She shot back, agitated by his interruption. Chuck scowled back at her but walked away without another word.

_"What was that?"_ Buffy asked with slight concern.

"Nothin' important." Faith replied drearily.

_"Oh. Oh! There was a guy!" _

"Really?" Faith queried, amused by Buffy's burst of excitement.

_"Yeah...I bludgeoned him in the library and things got progressively worse from there."_ Buffy explained, still sounding moderately happy about her encounter.

Faith let out a loud unrestrained laugh, receiving various looks from customers and a murderous glance from her manager.

"What's his sitch?" She continued, unconcerned.

_"Tall. Handsome. A gentleman. All the qualities a girl wants—"  
_  
"Speak for ya' self..." Faith pinched the receiver to the side of her head with her shoulder as she steadily admired her fingernails.

_"—but sadly I came across as a height-challenged, socially-retarded freshman. Did I mention he was __**tall**__?"_

"I hear it's not the size but what you do with it." Faith informed huskily, "I've had mixed experiences myself..."

Buffy snickered and Faith was fairly sure she'd exceeded in turning the bashful girl red again considering the silence that followed. The gap in conversation dragged on to the point that she realised Buffy was hesitating on something else she wanted to say. Despite patience being Faith's least adhered virtue, she waited; knowing Buffy would eventually spill.

_"I feel out of place. Like...I don't fit."_ The vulnerability in her voice caused Faith to soften in spite of her usual intolerance for other people's sob stories. _"It's like I'm in the wrong jigsaw puzzle and the more I try to force myself into place the more I don't."_

"It's been two days, Buffy." Faith reassured the anxious blonde, pressing her back fully against the wall. "This is college. Not the apocalypse."

_"I know. Being normal girl is nice...I'm just out of practice."_ Buffy confessed with a tired sigh. _"It would also help a bunch if Will wasn't so damn smart and settled and...happy."_

"You could do us both a favour 'n' just admit life sucks without me." Faith stated sardonically in a breathy tone.

_"But then I'd lose my last shred of dignity."_ Faith could clearly imagine the rehearsed pout behind Buffy's sarcasm.

"Faith." Chuck the night manager glared daggers at her across the restaurant floor. She made a contemptuous sound in the back of her throat.

"I better go before I lose this crappy career choice. Or put Chuck's head through a table."

_"I thought we'd talked about that."_ Buffy chastised as she playfully reprimanded Faith like a disappointed parent.

"Sorry, Mom." Faith simpered down the phone, receiving a giggle from the other slayer. "Catch ya later, sorority Sue. Take it easy, yeah?"

_"Will do. And thanks. Play nice." _

Faith hung the receiver back on the payphone. She took a moment to compose herself, draining as much of her irritation as possible out through each steady breath.

"Faith!"

She restrained the strong urge to head butt her slave-driving superior and opened her eyes.

"Comin', boss!" She gushed with sarcastic enthusiasm, flashing the default fake smile she'd become accustomed to.

Taking her notepad out of her chest pocket, Faith made her way to a waiting table and put all her effort into not snapping the pencil clenched in her fist.

* * *

The rest of Faith's shift passed with little event and the cheque handed to her at the end of a long, tiring night only added insult to injury. It left her wondering why she bothered showing up in the first place. This job sucked. The money sucked. There were better ways to spend her time and more enjoyable ways to earn a living. The thought drew a sultry smile across her face.

She would quit. She would march out to Chuck and tell him to stick this stupid waitress gig up his—

But then she remembered why she started this to begin with. It was a distraction and it was honest. Two things she desperately needed in her life right now.

This was the daily ritual Faith went through every time she finished a shift; she always came to the same conclusion.

Faith stepped out into a relatively cool night and welcomed the long overdue drop in temperature. She walked along the boulevard, passing the multitude of commercial stores and restaurants that littered the avenue, most of which were now closed for the night. A sharp breeze rattled down the dark street and Faith shivered.

"Maybe this heat wave's finally over." Faith muttered to herself, trying to hug some warmth back into her arms.

She paid no attention to the last straggling shoppers of the evening, steering herself home. The prospect of hitting a bar or the Bronze drifted through her mind briefly as she walked automatically along her memorized commute. It would give her something other to do than watch crappy late night television before heading to bed. Maybe she'd even find a guy to waste half an hour with in some seedy back alley or bathroom stall.

The motion passed.

A slayless month had left Faith's libido waning—despite what Buffy might think. The truth was she exerted most of her frustration out through teasing her fellow slayer; so it was no small wonder to see why the reserved blonde assumed Faith was on typical form.

But sex had always been a nice distraction from living in her head. Another distraction. Another escape. She'd been hovering on an indiscriminate street corner wondering if finding a decent bar would be such a bad idea after all; when it happened.

All her senses went into overdrive.

Her heartbeat quickened, her breath hitched and a wave of goose bumps travelled across her bare skin. It took Faith a moment to realise she wasn't having a stroke. She scanned the immediate area with a jolt of anticipation, fists forming at her sides in preparation. Before she could chase down the cause of the tingle running down her spine it found her instead. Faith had only a second to process the vampire sprinting full pelt towards her. They collided with an disconcerting crunch, sending both parties falling heavily to the ground.

Faith jumped to her feet without hesitation. She'd wanted to do this for a month. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest as excitement and adrenaline rushed through her body. As she approached the crumpled, undead creature it recoiled behind its arms and let out a scream of fear.

"Please! No! I'll do anything, I'll do any—!" The vampire abruptly stopped his desperate pleading and blinked rapidly. He dropped his arms from his face and clutched his chest, exhaling air he didn't even need.

"Oh...thank god. It's just you." The relieved smile small drawn across his demonic visage made something deep inside the slayer's head snap.

"Just me?" Faith growled through clenched teeth as she bore down on the oblivious vampire. "JUST. ME?"

"You had me scared for a minute there." He continued, brushing dirt from his grey suit as he stood up. "I thought—"

His sentence was cut short by a vicious uppercut that sent him stumbling back into some nearby bushes.

"You think I'm second best?" Faith shouted in between the flurry of punches she rained down on the hapless demon. "Not good enough 'less it's Blondie staking your ass?"

"What? No! No it's not that! I just thought—"

She flung him over her head and smashed his helpless form through a bench. The wood splintered and the bench snapped in two. Faith grabbed one half of the broken frame and raised it menacingly, preparing to land the final blow.

"...I thought...you were one...of them..." The vampire winced through pained breaths.

Faith's brow knitted with confusion and she paused, her improvised weapon left hovering in the space above them as she pondered his odd remark. The vampire's eyes travelled from the splintery guillotine awaiting him to the confused look on the slayer's face several times.

"One of what?" She asked quietly.

"I...I dunno...I didn't take a picture!" The bloodsucker responded with a little more attitude than Faith wanted to hear. She raised her arms deliberately and the vampire flinched.

"It was a demon or something, okay! It chased me from the cemetery!" He explained in a panicked rush. "I've only just got out my coffin..." He added, as if hoping for some sympathy to his plight.

Faith regarded him suspiciously and tried to make sense of his fumbled words.

"So...can I go now?" The vampire asked hopefully, baring his fangs as he gave an uneasy smile.

She answered his stupid question with an obvious answer. His remains scattered across the well-kept grass and Faith let her makeshift stake drop to the ground.

She stared silently at the pile of ash. The vampire's words rested uncomfortably in her mind. What should have been a highlight to her night was now a worrying mystery. Faith had never heard of something actively hunting a vampire. That was strange. But it had been the terrified reaction of the demon that bothered her. The palpable relief when it noticed who she actually was. What could make a slayer look downright friendly to a ten minute old vamp? What was she being compared to?

Faith's head shot around suddenly at a strange sound on the periphery of her slayer hearing. It would have been unnoticeable if not for the otherwise silent night. She'd heard a voice—so subtle and so void of humanity that it had caused the tiny hairs on the back of Faith's neck to rise.

She glared in the direction of the sound and the darkness glared back. Her eyes widened as something glittered in the unknowable shadows.

She stood frozen to the spot. A feeling of unease rose in her stomach. Her head began to throb and she felt nausea seep through her body. Every instinct told her to run in the opposite direction. The glistening alien shape grew in the darkness, bending upward at each end. Faith nearly yelled out in shock.

A car passed by and its blinding headlights woke Faith from her stupor. Her gaze flickered back to the spot in the distance.

It was gone.

She shoved her hands into her pockets and puffed out her chest with a deep breath, ignoring the erratic beat of her heart resounding in her ears. She shrugged her fear away and cursed herself for losing her cool so quickly. Wiping the sweat from her brow, Faith turned slowly and continued her journey home.

But the scene replayed in her head continuously.

In the distance, between the pale light of street lamps and the shroud of darkness beyond, Faith had seen a small crescent of silvery-white. She shuddered at the image burned in her mind; it reminded her disturbingly of the recent night in the cemetery. She shook her head as her feet quickened their pace down the dark, empty street. The vision stayed with her all the way to 1630 Revello Drive, playing over and over in her head.

She had stared into the darkness and it had smiled back.


	4. The Worm and the Wolf

**A.N: I apologise for the horrendous gap in updating. All I can say is busy life and all that gets in the way of happy fuffy story time. Feedback on this chapter would be greatly appreciated even though I suck at being consistent with my updates. But I did finish this chapter while having the flu, so, there is that. Cough.**

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**The Worm and the Wolf**

Faith sat in Giles' office, the dim light of the table lamp barely illuminating the look of utter despair contorting her features. She felt an incredible sense of security and warmth within the small study that helped slightly dull the dread coursing through her veins. The stacks stood tall and silent in the library that lay beyond the open office door; reassuring Faith that this was a safe place, somewhere people went to be alone with their thoughts, to better themselves intellectually or, in some cases, make out behind the geography section. However, the thoughts currently crowding Faith's head were dark and bilious, she'd hardly touched a book in her life, and the only available partner for a voyeuristic adventure would be the least likely to participate.

Buffy occupied the space in front of the cushioned chair that hosted Faith's resigned form. Faith's frozen stare fell upon the kneeling blonde who looked up at her with pleading eyes. "We'll explain everything to Giles. He'll understand, Faith. He'll understand it was an accident. This isn't your fault."

"Yes, B, it is." Faith could hear the fear in the blonde's firm voice, along with the erratic drumbeat of her own heart.

"It'll be fine. I promise."Buffy assured her with as much conviction as she could muster.

"No. No it won't." Faith replied in a wavering voice laced with growing anger. "They'll find him and then they'll send me to the big house. Down for murder. Just like Dad," She chuckled without humour or joy. Her leg twitched with a rapid rhythm that caused the padded chair to squeak obnoxiously in the otherwise deathly silent room.

Faith witnessed a range of emotions flood Buffy's features as she shifted her position, standing slowly as she regarded her in speechless distress. Buffy had known very little of Faith's previous life and the wild brunette had liked it that way. She'd learnt more about the girl's family history in the last minute than she had in the past few months. Buffy's attention was drawn from her troubling thoughts when she realised Faith was groaning under her breath.

"Can't believe this...can't believe I did this...guy's dead and rottin' in some alley cus of me..."

"Hey. Hey – listen – you need to stop this. Just breathe." Buffy urged the distraught slayer, gripping her hands with equal intensity as she knelt back down to her. "Breathe." She repeated calmly.

The panicking brunette did as instructed, her breaths escaping in ragged intervals through her nose as her eyes darted wildly around the room.

"I'm scared too, Faith," Buffy continued. "I don't know what's going to happen next but I promise I'll be here. We were both there. Either one of us could have...made the same mistake."

"Stop lying to me. I know what happened." Faith snapped. "I should have stopped! I should have known that wasn't a vamp but I didn't care! I just wanted to slay, Buffy. I just wanted to keep up on the scoreboard! Don't defend my actions. Don't you dare patronise me with that easy mistake bullshit!"

Buffy looked taken aback by her friend's outburst and averted her gaze. A mask of anger and confusion spread across her face.

"You're an idiot." She said sharply enough to catch a surprised glance from Faith. "This whole sole-survivor, loner deal you've got going on? It's stupid. You're stupid. I hate that part of you. It's not the Faith that slays with me and it sure as hell isn't the Faith I call my friend." Buffy's tone was deadly serious. Faith squirmed slightly in her seat under the fiery gaze of the angry blonde. "There's no need for it so stop throwing it in my face and let me help."

Buffy's words had been enough to leave Faith stunned as the blonde glared defiantly up at her. Only after a pause that dragged on tensely between them, did she finally say, "Okay, sorry, thanks."

Buffy squeezed Faith's hand and encouraged a coy smile out of her when she presented her own.

The creak of the library doors caused both girls to react, Buffy's hand moving quickly away from Faith's as Giles appeared in the doorway.

"I apologise for the delay, I came as quickly as I could – you sounded urgent on the phone." He said. His laboured breath led credibility to the statement.

"Hey, Giles. Thanks for coming. You should probably sit down." Buffy explained as she greeted her watcher.

"Ah. Very well." She wrung her hands in agitation as she watched her guardian take a seat.

Faith let out a sudden, sharp gasp. Her eyes went wide with unrestrained fear as she caught sight of the figure that was revealed behind Giles when he sat down. It stood hiding beside his filing cabinet. The tattered remains of a work suit jutted out from the shadows as the hollowed eyes of a dead man glimmered wetly at her in the available light with cold detachment. The pupils burned with bright, white light that stared at Faith with unblinking, accusatory hatred.

"Faith?" Giles said as he watched the terrified girl scramble backwards over her chair into the opposite corner of the room, apparently repulsed by something in his vicinity. He looked behind him but found nothing of interest. When he turned back to talk his mouth moved but no words could be distinguished, only a blast of deafening static noise.

The body that swayed behind Giles was definitely _his_ but the eyes were filled with a mocking malevolence that didn't fit within the confines of one, fragile human skin.

"Faith."

Faith looked for her caller, realising with increasing dread that Buffy was nowhere to be seen. Giles continued to make unintelligible, unpleasant sounds like a dead tone heard through a phone receiver.

_"Worrrthlesss..." _The cold, alien voice hissed from the gaping jaw of Alan Finch's desiccated corpse like an angry snake._ "Murrrderrrer..."_

He gave her an impossibly wide smile.

Finch suddenly twitched violently, his limp body moved across the room in a terrifying display of jittery, angular movements; like an insect. Faith pushed back against the wall, feeling it push her forward with unnatural force as Finch approached with terrifying speed, scuttling towards her as his open mouth revealed a chasm of vicious teeth. His eyes, like ungodly suns, blinded her. She covered her face as his teeth sunk—

"FAITH!"

Faith jolted upwards in alarm, the porch swing squeaking in protest to her violent awakening. Adjusting her eyes to the afternoon sun, she soon noticed the lithe form of Buffy standing over her, a hand firmly on each of her shoulders.

Faith glanced at the small hands placed either side of her neck before meeting Buffy's gaze. She looked worried.

"She lives." Buffy deadpanned with underlying relief. A strong sense of concern was firmly in place as she continued, "You had me wiggin' there for a minute. Never seen you shake like that."

Faith blinked several times in a row as she took in the familiar wooden porch and the peaceful suburban street beyond it. Her heart hammered in her chest with violent, rhythmic panic. She shivered internally as a breeze caressed the exposed parts of her sweat-covered body.

"I was...I was shaking?"

"Pretty badly, yeah." Buffy said. The soft pressure of her fingers against Faith's skin didn't go unnoticed and she squirmed uncomfortably under the touch and intimate proximity to the other slayer. "

"Well you can let go now, I seem pretty stable." Buffy took a second to realise what she meant then slowly removed her hands from Faith, folding her arms.

"Is there anything you want? Maybe I can get mom—"

"No." Faith cut Buffy off abruptly. She swallowed hard and organised her thoughts to sober herself. "Nah, don't bother the landlord, I'm good. It was just a bad dream."

Buffy made a thoughtful noise and sat down beside the brunette on the swaying seat.

"The luxury of the afternoon nap — oh, how I miss thee." Buffy sighed with forced exasperation. "Wanna talk about it?"

Faith smiled lightly and shook her head. "Big no on that one."

Buffy smiled, albeit with some effort, and placed a comforting hand on Faith's knee. She ignored the shiver that ran through her, knowing full well it wasn't caused by the breeze this time, and stood up.

"So what brings you to my neck of the 'burbs?" Faith inquired in a way she hoped didn't sound too defensive as she leaned against the white banister of Buffy's porch. "Worried I was gettin' bored without you around?"

The older slayer frowned slightly.

"Maybe. It wouldn't kill my ego to know you were at least a little out of sorts without your fun time Buffy pal to play and slay with."

"We'd slay if there were anythin' worth slayin'." Faith replied bluntly with a shrug. A devious smirk she couldn't control slipped across her lips. "As for playin'...whole new ball park for us, Buff..."

Buffy rolled her eyes and kicked out at the other girl's shins, missing her intended target by a good inch.

"Life's just the half without the hoot when you're not around, B." Faith beamed sweetly despite supplying all the sarcasm humanly possible. Buffy said nothing. She regarded the other slayer coolly for a moment, arms once again crossed over her chest. She could see how tense Faith was to the point it was becoming ridiculous to ignore it. She was screaming bad vibes that Buffy didn't find comforting.

"What's going on, Faith?"

The younger slayer flinched noticeably, apparently caught off guard by Buffy's stern tone and blunt question. For an agonising moment Buffy thought Faith was going to shut her out but then her defences dropped and her face softened.

"Where to start..." The tired girl mused with a drawn out sigh.

"The beginning is always good." Buffy suggested, a ghost of a smile gracing her lips as she continued to stare. Faith let out a short laugh and ducked her head slightly, appearing abashed by what she was about to say. "Faith, what is it?" Buffy urged with growing concern.

Faith sat back down beside Buffy and spent a moment wringing her hands as she composed her thoughts.

"Lately...I've been seeing things; hearing things. Weird shit I can't exactly explain without soundin' a few fries short of a happy meal."

Buffy scrunched up her brow in confusion at her odd turn of phrase.

"Crazy." Faith clarified causing Buffy to nod in sudden understanding.

"We live in Sunnydale. I'm the Slayer. I slay the undead and miscellaneous members of the underworld — not a lot you could say that'd make me call the men in white coats." Buffy teased. Faith said nothing and fidgeted irritably on the porch swing, causing it to creak quietly in response.

"Try me." The smiling blonde firmly ordered her hesitant friend.

"That night in the cemetery...I saw something. It wasn't a bird, I know what I saw and it didn't look like a damn crow." Faith rushed out, not giving Buffy the chance to interrupt her, "And the other night after my shift I saw something else." She went on to explain the events of that night, from the unexpected encounter with the scared vamp and its strange confession, up to the grin in the dark that still made her shudder when retelling the incident. Faith couldn't quite gauge the look currently presiding on Buffy's face but it was safe to assume she believed her.

"Well, I won't be sleeping tonight." She said with a nervous grin before turning serious. "Major creep factor."

"Tell me about it." Faith lowered her face to rest in her palms, exhaling as she drew her fingers up into her dark, wild locks. "Damn thing's stalkin' me, I swear."

"And then there's the dreams." Buffy added with a glazed look, her eyes not meeting Faith's own. "I mean my night time subconscious outings hadn't been that fun lately," Buffy confessed, pausing long enough for Faith to know what she was getting at. Throughout the summer Buffy had been plagued by unsettling and torturous dreams of Angel's departure and her anguish over it. "But recently they've kicked up a notch on the 'Nightmare-on-Elm-Street' meter."

"I hear that." Faith breathed out with quiet frustration.

"Maybe there's something new in town." Buffy mused to herself. "Something that's getting a kick out of messing around with our dreams. Weirder things have happened."

"Something bad enough to have the vamps runnin' scared too..." Faith added with a glazed expression of clarity.

"Could explain all the M.I.A demons that are usually so free and fancy 'round these parts." Buffy shrugged.

"S'what I'm thinking. Great minds and all that." Faith smirked as she slouched back against the bench. "So what do you wanna do about this? Scooby meeting? Patrol? Something that doesn't involve extensive research and learning from books?" Faith added with a hint of desperation. Buffy chuckled and shook her head.

"No. Not yet anyway." She stated in serious mode. "We need insider info. And there's one guy in this town that has the 411 on every hell beast in and out of this town."

* * *

"Closed indefinitely?"

Outside Willy's bar, Buffy and Faith stood at the shady joint's locked entrance, with the former scratching her head in confusion at the large sign she had just read aloud that was nailed to the door.

"That gonna stop you?" Faith challenged the agitated blonde with a quirked eyebrow. Buffy shot her an innocent glance for a moment then turned back to the door. One kick was enough to send it splintering away from its frame and crashing inwards, revealing the interior of dingy demon bar beyond. They stepped over the broken door and peered into the dark barroom.

"Looks like no one's home, Buff." Faith said, walking alongside the bar top and running her finger along its surface, noting the dust that gathered on the single digit. There was palpable tension in her voice and movements. Buffy could tell she'd been itching for something to punch. The younger slayer usually worked through most of her problems with violence or sex and since Buffy doubted Faith would be mounting Willy anytime soon, the obvious conclusion was the brunette had intended to deal with her recent confusion and frustration by hurting something deserving of it. Willy was always a reliable punching bag.

Buffy did a thorough once over of the joint before exhaling loudly enough to draw the attention of the other slayer, who had jumped up onto the bar and helped herself to something far too alcoholic for that time of the day.

"Seriously, was there a memo I missed? Is it a Hellmouth national holiday or something?" Buffy cried with bewilderment etched deep into her features. Faith offered only an expression of resignation and shrugged.

She pushed her drink forward in Buffy's direction, shaking the bottle in an alluring fashion. Buffy shook her head in the form of a polite 'no, thanks'.

"Suit yaself." She took another swig and cast her eyes casually around the place while Buffy, feeling completely out of the loop, seethed on the spot. Faith's idle observation of the room halted and her head tilted to the side in a curious manner. She hopped off the bar top, leaving her beverage behind, and moved over to a corner of the room.

"Hey, check this out, B." Faith gestured Buffy over without looking at her. When Buffy saw the other slayer's discovery her expression warped with curiosity. Deep claw marks ran across the section of the floor they were standing on. They appeared to continue for quite a few feet, growing fainter as they progressed, until disappearing entirely near the centre of the room. Buffy even noticed similar markings on the surface of a table nearby. "Looks like drag marks if you ask me." Faith concluded as she traced the four parallel marks with her fingers.

"This just gets weirder and weirder." Buffy muttered to herself as her hands came to rest on her hips.

The sound of shuffling feet made them both spin round to find Willy the Snitch standing in the doorway of his establishment. His eyes moved from the broken door to the two slayers. He rushed backwards to make a hasty retreat.

Buffy and Faith were quicker.

"Not so fast, Willy boy." Faith sneered as she grabbed the fleeing man by the shoulders, spun him around roughly and hefted him upward by the lapels of his jacket.

"Please! Mercy! Mercy! Give a guy a break!" Willy pleaded hastily, holding his hands up high in surrender as Faith pinned him to the outside of the bar, his feet uselessly dangling inches above the ground.

"Can't you see I'm down on my luck as it is? And thanks for adhering to the sign I put up, by the way, made my life so much easier without a door to my own place of work." Willy said with bold sarcasm. Faith looked incredulously at Buffy who rolled her eyes and gave a silent command in the form of a nod.

Faith thumped Willy hard against the wall and he yelped pitifully.

"Now? Not the time to be bringin' an attitude to proceedings, beady eyes." Faith said menacingly. Willy gulped audibly as Faith bore her eyes angrily into his face. "So cut the crap and tell us the deal."

"Wh-what deal? I ain't got no deal, just an empty bar and no clientele for fifty miles!" He spluttered frantically. "I don't know nothin', I ain't seen nothin', I'm all out this time. I swear!"

Buffy shot him a bemused look as Faith continued to keep him in a terrified stupor.

"Wait. What do you mean by 'no clientele'?" Buffy asked carefully, fixing Willy with a steady gaze. "As in no demons?"

"None. Nada. Haven't had so much as an imp stroll through that door in a week. Been practically serving human patrons only — which sad to say — isn't good for business." Willy explained, hand over his heart, his slimy character becoming more pathetic to witness by the minute.

Faith turned her head slowly and found a confused look to match her own on Buffy's face.

"What about the claw marks in there?" Faith quickly asked, remembering. Willy shrugged and looked panicked when he didn't appear to have an answer to give.

"Violence is a hazard in this line of work. Some of the guys get rowdy and a drunken demon will occasionally create a scene. But they're not new. I'm tellin' ya nothing with claws has been in here for a week or two at best."

"And you wouldn't happen to know what'd be drivin' all your customers away?" Buffy enquired suspiciously, as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Believe me if I knew — which I don't — do you think I'd still be wasting my time around here?"

Buffy and Faith exchanged a long silent look. Willy got all his information through the gossip and rumours spread between the otherworldly customers he hosted for. Without them he was a bank without money. He was a dead end.

"So...ladies, can I go now?"

* * *

"So..." Buffy drawled out as the pair walked at a comfortable pace down Main Street. "No demons."

"No demons." Faith reiterated coolly, placing a firm wall around any other feelings she might have on those two words. She had seemed ultimately put out by the lack of information obtained from threatening Willy. It'd taken a large part on Buffy's behalf to stop Faith from trying to force more out of him.

"Well, my diary just opened up!" Buffy quipped as she tried to lift the mood. She managed to get a distracted smile out of her companion. The blonde sobered and asked, "You're still worried aren't you?"

"Me? Worried?" Faith's eyebrow had never risen higher. She let out a hollow, groan of a laugh and her eyes fell to the sidewalk as she quietly said, "Yeah."

Buffy let a reassuring arm snake around the taller girl's shoulders, which served to remind her how small she felt in comparison to Faith. "Don't sweat it. I've got your back." She smiled sideways at the brunette. She leant her head against Faith's shoulder. "If your phantom stalker strikes again I'll be there, ready for action." She raised her fist in a comical manner just like an action movie star.

"Calm down, fists of fury." Faith genuinely chuckled.

"Oh, you can't ignore these moves." Buffy stated with a cockiness that was oddly out of character.

"I'm a bad influence on you." Faith stated, still smiling.

"The worst.

They continued to walk through the busy streets of Sunnydale, enjoying the sunny weather despite the ferocious temperature. It was nice. Better than that it felt normal. It slowly dawned on the two slayers that they could see a lot of days like this in the future. Buffy even noticed that Faith seemed to be loosening, unravelling layers of tension like a loaded spring.

"Gah, I've got class in an hour." Buffy grimaced, noticing the time on the clock that hung above city hall. She sent an apologetic look Faith's way, watching sadly as all that tension seemed to flood back into the disappointed girl.

"Oh, right. Yeah of course." Faith shrugged nonchalantly as she attempted to feign something close to boredom at the revelation.

"Sorry, I just forgot-"

"Buffy, it's fine." Faith chuckled easily, sitting herself down on the hood of a nearby convertible. Her frowning friend didn't look convinced as she folded her arms and shuffled awkwardly on the spot.

"You could wait on the campus or in my dorm till I'm done? We could hang out then. It's not like I get a lot of visitors apart from Willow." Buffy offered sincerely, lending Faith a helping hand up from the car. Faith accepted the hand but shook her head at the offer.

"It's cool, B. I'd only cramp your style. Me and learning have a shaky history anyhow. Wouldn't want a fight breaking out around you and ya new cool college buds; could turn ugly." Buffy thought the easy smile on the other girl's face contradicted the bitter tone she'd detected in her previous statement.

"Oh shut up." Buffy punched the sulking girl in the arm with enough force to catch Faith off guard. She smiled reluctantly as she rubbed her throbbing limb.

"Okay, I'm sold. Nothin' like a girly punch to make me see sense." Faith mocked her companion with a sly grin yet still appeared to be rubbing her arm.

"Good." Buffy beamed triumphantly. "And don't try and skulk off if you get bored. Cus I'll find you. I have my ways..."

Buffy's face lit up suddenly as she turned fully to look at Faith. "You should definitely come with." She insisted with an excited glint in her eye, "I just had an idea."

* * *

"So why are we doing this again?" Willow asked with a mix of excitement and suspicion in her voice. "I mean I'm all for spontaneous night time rituals but uh, this is kinda short notice."

"Sorry, Will." Buffy apologised from her seated position opposite to the redhead.

"I'm amazed we never thought of doing this before," Faith said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Would have made our jobs a hell of a lot easier."

The three girls were in Buffy's dorm room. Lit candles of various sizes stood around a map of Sunnydale that lay on the carpeted floor between Willow and Buffy.

"Well this should be pretty simple. First time I've done this but still...simple." Willow said with a hint of apprehension.

"It's just a locator spell," Buffy encouraged impatiently. She was as eager to see the spell work as she was to get it done quickly. Her roommate could come home at any moment and that would lead to many uncomfortable questions. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"We could accidentally transport all the demons in town to this location."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh." Willow gave a brief nervous smile. "Anyway, fingers crossed that doesn't happen. Ready?"

Buffy paused for a moment then nodded.

Willow shut her eyes tight, legs crossed with her hands resting on top of her lap as if she was meditating. After several seconds she reopened her eyes.

"Okay, scatter."

Buffy did as commanded and scattered her vial of powder simultaneously with Willow's own small vial as Faith looked on from across the room. The trio watched as the powder came to rest against the map, glittering and shimmering across its parched surface. Eventually, miniscule points of bright yellow light appeared in random places on the map.

Willow exhaled with relief.

"Thank god, it worked." She beamed with obvious pride at her achievement. Buffy frowned as she leant down to peer at the pinpricks of light. She could count them with ease.

"Eleven. Eleven demons." Buffy announced with disbelief etched across her features. "That sounds..."

"Like a great time to take a vacation." Faith butted in from her spot on the window sill.

"I was going to go with underwhelming but there's also that." The blonde slayer continued, ticking Faith's point off on one of her fingers. She turned back to Willow and fixed her friend with a serious look. "This spell includes everything right? Vampires, Ghosts, Fairies, Godzilla?"

"I dunno about spirits but the spell's designed to find anything supernatural with a physical presence in the immediate area. That means no matter the size, as long as it's somewhat solid it'll pop up on the map. Ghosts are a little more complex to pin down."

"So what? Is the Hellmouth finally shuttin' down shop?" Faith inquired thoughtfully.

"Maybe. I mean I've never thought about it but I guess it's a possibility." Buffy said slowly, her expression pensive. "Faith, have you been abstinent recently?"

"Absta-wha—?"

"Keeping it in your pants."

"Oh. Uh...why?" Faith asked curiously, shuffling uncomfortably beside the window.

"Cus then we'd know for certain if hell is freezing over." Buffy turned to face the other slayer with a broad, cheesy smirk.

"Ah ha ha ha. Help me put my guts back in — my sides are splitting." Faith deadpanned as she glared at the blonde. "Besides a lady never tells."

"Must be why I can never get you to shut up." Buffy mumbled just under her breath.

Buffy ducked just in time to avoid a pillow missile.

"Ass." Faith said sulkily as she fell onto Willow's bed front first and peered over the edge down at the map.

"You said there were eleven demons."

"Yeah, so?" Buffy asked, still weary off Faith's reaching distance.

"Well you musta miscounted cus I only see eight."

Buffy looked back at the illuminated map and did a recount.

"What the hell? There are eight!" Buffy exclaimed in surprise.

"I know. That's what I said." Faith said irritably, as she regarded her fingernails with cool detachment.

"But I swear there were eleven before!" Buffy persisted, trying to prove her sanity.

"Hey guys, now there's only seven." Willow interrupted the bickering slayers.

The slayers fell silent and fixed their attention on the schematic of Sunnydale. They both counted seven still glowing lights. They watched as another of the lights extinguished itself, leaving a charred, black mark on the paper as it's only sign of existence.

"That could be like...teleportation right?" Buffy asked in a quiet voice that betrayed the sense of dread building within her.

"I guess. One or two maybe. But five? Starts to be too big of a coincidence." Willow explained with her own apprehension at what was occurring before her.

"Maybe someone's just been picking up the slack? I mean maybe I'm the only one seeing the positives here but the fewer demons shacking up in Sunnyhell the better, right?" Faith argued with a hopeful look at the other two women.

"It's never that simple, Faith." Buffy sighed with slight exasperation.

"Was hopin' you wouldn't say that." Faith chuckled.

"Where's Oz?" Buffy asked, her tone abruptly turning serious.

"I'm not sure. I think he's playing at one of the fraternities tonight, I can't remember." Willow stammered. The implications of what Buffy was thinking quickly began to dawn on her.

"Call him — find him. We need to keep an eye on him until I — I mean we," Buffy quickly corrected as she caught the silent look Faith through her way, "find out what's happening here."

Faith stood suddenly and Buffy internally flinched at the abrupt action thinking the worst.

"Sounds like a plan. Let's go before Dingoes Ate My Baby loses its lead guitarist."

Willow blanched at Faith's words, stopping mid-dial. Buffy took something from the chest at the end of her bed and grabbed Faith's wrist, pulling her to the door.

"Call me when you know where he is." Buffy ordered Willow. "We'll find him, I promise."

* * *

A raucous round of applause and wolf whistling filled the overcrowded room as Dingoes Ate My Baby finished their last set. Oz removed his guitar and set it carefully down against an amp. He went through the required celebratory gestures with his band mates, commemorating a successful night, before feeling his cell phone vibrate in his back pocket. He checked the caller ID and smiled when he saw his girlfriend's name.

"Hey what's up?" He strained to hear the receiving end of the call but couldn't make out Willow's voice over all the noise.

"I can't hear you, hang on."Oz pushed his way from the stage through the crowded room. Once outside the housing complex Oz brought the phone back up to his ear and was met by the frantic protests of his girlfriend on the other end.

"No! Go back inside; we don't know if it's safe yet!"

"Safe for who?" Oz asked puzzled.

"Where are you?"

"I'm at my gig. The one I—"

Oz was cut off by a sudden pain that shook every bone in his body. He attempted to speak into the phone again but another wave of pain made his knees buckle. Then he caught sight of his hand.

"Oh. Crap." Oz watched in horror as his hand began to contort and elongate in front of him. Thick hair sprouted from his knuckles, his bones cracked and grew in length as his nails transformed into thick, black claws. He watched helplessly as his cell phone shattered under the force of his newfound supernatural strength. Oz looked up at the sky; half expecting to see a full moon even though he knew it wasn't for another week. A thin, crescent of moon left a dull imprint on the deep red and purple of the summer evening sky. It wasn't even night yet.

Oz was at a loss to explain the change coming over him and managed to stagger over to a nearby tree in the courtyard. His claws dug into the bark as he willed himself not to let out a howl or primal fury. From the corners of his eyes Oz could make out the shapes of people moving past him — students — prey. He lashed out at the nearest passerby, missing narrowly as the intended target fled in fear. As he began to give in to the transformation he noticed something moving quickly toward him. He felt a sharp, sudden sting in the side of his neck. Then everything went black.

* * *

"Did it work?" Faith asked, staring at the large animal tranquiliser imbedded in semi-transformed Oz.

"Well, give it a second. If he starts mauling people or gets really good at basketball start to worry." Buffy joked through laboured breaths. She and faith had sprinted all the way there from the dorm room, receiving Willow's call on route. Being able to sense the supernatural creatures around them had been a big help factor too.

"Lucky you had one of those things on you." Faith said with slight suspicion in her tone. Buffy shrugged as she wiped beading sweat from her forehead.

"Once you officially befriend a werewolf who happens to both be your best friend's boyfriend and lives on the same campus it makes sense to take precautions."

Faith nodded slowly, Buffy's answer apparently making a lot of sense.

"Also, gives one hell of a high." Buffy smirked. She rolled her eyes at the look of shock adorning Faith's face.

"Joke, Faith. Ha ha." Buffy acted out the appropriate response as the younger slayer looked on bemused.

"Let's just get Cujo out of here before someone notices the extra fur." Faith instructed anxiously.

"Good idea."

The pair knelt down and after Faith removed the large dart canister from Oz's neck, they took an arm each and heaved him upward. He wasn't the biggest guy to begin with and between them it took very little effort to carry him along, his feet dragging slightly as his head hung down; hiding the fangs that had begun to protrude from his mouth. To the casual eye he just looked like another frat boy who had attempted one too many keg stands.

"So where to?" Faith asked like she rearranging furniture.

"He has a place nearby that he uses for his monthly visits. Willow told me about it. I don't think it's too far."

"Let's hope not, B. I don't think I could rock the full body toupee look. Girl's gotta keep herself tidy y'know?" Faith added with such solemnity that it was comical. Buffy simply chuckled and tried to ignore the blush creeping along her neck, caused by the personal information Faith had just casually revealed. She wondered when her body would finally get used to Faith's little remarks. If nearly a year's worth of friendship was any indication, she concluded probably never.

As they passed a quieter part of the campus, bordered by a valley of woodland on either side, Faith felt a chill run up her spine. She had the distinct impression something was watching them. Her heartbeat picked up its pace as she waited with a sense of dread for that evil, mocking smile to make an appearance. However, when she gathered the nerve to look around she saw nothing of sinister origin. She internally sighed with relief and was glad to note Buffy had been oblivious to her fleeting moment of abject terror. But then, up a slope of grassy earth, covered in thick vegetation and bowing trees a bush rustled loudly enough to register on the keen slayer's senses.

Faith watched as a group of men, dressed in military-style clothing, armed with weirdly shaped rifles, moved swiftly off between the trees. She came to an abrupt halt, forcing Buffy to stop herself. After a moment of confusion she eventually followed Faith's line of sight. Her eyes bugged as she watched the troop move stealthily through the patch of woods, eventually disappearing into the distant undergrowth.

"You saw that right?" Faith asked with disbelief tight around her features.

"Yeah." Buffy replied, just as perplexed.

"Good." Faith sighed with relief before continuing to heft Oz along the quiet path. "At least I know I'm not the only one going crazy."


	5. Secrets

**A.N: Been a while since I updated this. I think by the next chapter things will really pick up pace. We're five chapters in now so I'd love to get a sense of how you guys are feeling about this story in general thus far. So by all means leave a comment in the reviews. More NMG soon!**

* * *

**Secrets**

Giles sat on the edge of an immaculately varnished desk, deep in thought. Two of his fingers crept up to massage his left temple as his brow creased in contemplation. This common mannerism was the only thing to distinguish him as he currently sat dressed in a short-sleeved top and a pair of long shorts that were both baggy and casual in a way that tweed could never hope to be. The homey comfort of his townhouse hadn't been spared from the crippling heat wave that had reared it's unwelcome head once again, despite the fact Giles' had his front door and most of his windows wide open to encourage some semblance of a breeze. Even the small electronic fan that buzzed enthusiastically on its maximum speed seemed to prove futile in its efforts as it rotated back and forth on the kitchen counter.

"A shadow?" Giles repeated for the umpteenth time. His face was weary with the frustration weighed upon him from a continued lack of understanding.

Faith's loud, agitated and moderately muffled reply came from the depths of the couch she had her head buried in. Giles' peered bewilderedly over the piece of furniture and down at the slayer. He turned his questioning look toward Buffy, who was sat in an armchair opposite the other slayer. When he cleared his throat she was forced to withdraw from her curious scrutiny of the faded Sex Pistols logo adorning Giles' t-shirt.

"I think that was, 'For the last ducking time, yes.'" Buffy translated with a glassy-eyed glance towards Giles' face.

Giles gave her an odd look over the rim of his glasses. When she noticed it she blinked out of her daze and shrugged.

"I used a PG-13 filter." Buffy explained, turning sheepish. "I always imagined you'd get all affronted and British if I ever said fu—"

"That's quite alright I get the picture." The watcher hastily interrupted the slayer, raising his hand in a desperate gesture.

"See." Buffy rolled her eyes to the rug sprawled across the hardwood floor. Faith chose this moment to push her body up from the comfort of Giles' sofa and confront the ex-watcher.

"Look G-man, I know this is confusin' shit – believe me I ain't exactly feelin' like Sherlock here but I'm not crazy. I know what I saw." Faith stated evenly. The way her fingers were digging into the backrest of the couch and the wild intensity of her eyes did little to plead her case. "I'm _**not**_ crazy."

"Faith, calm yourself." The hard look Giles aimed at Faith served to simmer her smoldering temperament for the time being. She grudgingly averted her gaze, plumping back into the couch cushions with an agitated exhalation of air that barely affected the stifling miasma around them.

"Sorry." She mumbled halfheartedly.

"It's quite understandable. In this heat our emotions are all much closer to the surface." Giles smiled thinly as he unconsciously fanned himself with the piece of paper in his hand.

Faith's mouth twisted but she chose to keep silent, letting her eyes burn holes into the ceiling.

"Now you're positive you didn't see the owner of this mystery shadow?" Giles continued, glancing at the rough drawing Faith had drawn for him. It depicted a crude representation of the thing she'd witnessed in the graveyard. On the same piece of paper was an impression of the 'face' she'd seen on the night with her encounter with the vampire.

"There was no-!" Faith cut herself off and took a steadying breath. "This wasn't a demon or a vamp or some creepy lurker lookin' to play grope and poke."

Giles' right eye twitched ever so slightly.

"It was just me and one very alive, very happy shadow." The sincerity in her voice and the pleading look that acutely demonstrated Faith was begging him to believe her caused Giles to smile fondly at the rebellious slayer. He stood, making a thoughtful sound as he moved over to browse one of his crowded bookshelves. His index finger ran along the spines of several tomes before he paused and withdrew a single volume. The book appeared older than most of its neighbors, its embossed title barely visible on the faded leather, but Faith managed to make it out with her keen eyesight. One of her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"You think I'm being haunted?" She inquired incredulously, moving her legs as Giles sat beside her on the couch.

"There are references…" He began hesitantly as if choosing his words carefully. He opened the book, flicking through pages of certain interest. "There are many things that have been described through the ages as shadowy in nature. From spirits to wraiths, sinister apparitions, demons without corporeal bodies…this isn't necessarily a narrow field." Giles explained with hooded eyes deep in thought. "And though I personally find it ridiculous to believe a ghost would go this far to trouble you, I feel it best to start at one end of the spectrum and eliminate possible culprits until…well, until we have a match."

Faith grabbed the book from Giles – to his slight surprise – and thumbed through the pages impatiently, pausing now and then when an illustration came into view. As Faith scanned through the tome Buffy watched her as if she'd grown an extra head that could read more than the menu at the Doublemeat Palace without getting bored.

After a few tense and silent minutes of extraordinary concentration Faith eventually growled under her breath and shut the book with a soft thud.

"Nothin' in this looks like my thing." She said irately

"Is there nothing else?" Giles asked desperately as he took the book back. "No minor details you may have overlooked?"

"Just what I said before, G." The brunette sighed earnestly. "White eyes. Big ol' mouth full of teeth to put Jaws to shame. But..."

"Yes?" Giles looked up hopefully.

"Well…" Faith's brow knitted together as if she were trying to recall a memory. "Thinking about it now, it kinda felt like they were for show, ya know? Like it was just tryna scare me. I've seen this thing twice now. The first time I was with B, so sure, I could believe some spook isn't gonna risk going toe-to-toe with two slayers at the same time. But the other night I was alone. It could've taken me by surprise, jumped me while I was focused on the vamp but it didn't. The only reason I knew it was there was cus I heard it."

"It spoke directly to you?" Giles appeared on the edge of his seat, riveted by her revelation. Faith looked uncertain, her eyes unfocused in thought, then she slowly nodded as if realizing something horrible.

Buffy's interest seemed suddenly piqued by the distress evident on the brunette's face.

"What did it say?" She asked curiously.

"My name." Faith felt an unpleasant chill run down her spine as she relived the moment she heard the strangled voice call to her from the dark. "I thought I imagined it but…damn thing wasn't even tryna hide."

"The monsters are taunting us now? Was the general evildoing not enough?" Buffy quipped dryly. "I mean I know we've been the leaders at taunting our enemies for a long time but…really…" She paused, suddenly shamefaced, "I'm just talking to myself here, aren't I?"

"What kinda nasty gets its kicks outta scarin' people for the sake of it?" Faith asked Giles as Buffy went back to staring passively out the window.

"Quite a few, actually." Giles admitted with a rueful smile, adjusting his glasses as he scanned the contents of his book. "I just don't understand why it would only appear to one of you."

Faith shifted tensely next to the ex-watcher and Buffy could sense the self-destructive cogs turning in Faith's head before she even turned to see the resentful expression on her face.

"Look, if Faith says she saw this thing," Buffy interjected, daring a glance to the other slayer, who was now watching her apprehensively, "I believe her."

An invisible weight seemed to evaporate from the brunette's shoulders and a smile flittered across her face.

"Because of the simultaneous dreams you experienced recently?" Giles asked inquisitively.

"Yes. And because I trust her instincts." Buffy said matter-of-factly. "Paranoid whack job attributes aside."

"Gee, Summers. Just when I thought you were butterin' me up." Faith's smirk demonstrated just how little her words had afflicted her pride.

"The important thing to take away from my bitchy humor is I'm on your side." Buffy said her expression both poignant and amused.

"Yay me." Faith smiled sarcastically, but the twinkle in her eyes subtly told Buffy the hardheaded girl was truly grateful.

"These dreams." Giles cut in, interrupting the banter, "There've been no others since?"

"Not that I can remember." Buffy shook her head. "I don't think Professor Walsh trying to eat my brain because I got an F on a Psych paper counts as otherworldly – just academically traumatizing."

Faith's gaze remained downcast and after a moment of silence she also shook her head.

"Nothin' aside from the usual."

Buffy's brow furrowed at the other slayer's offhand comment while Giles contemplated the information.

"How is Oz fairing?" He asked, abruptly changing topic and forcing Buffy to tear her gaze from the stoic features of her sister slayer to answer the Englishmen's question.

"He's fine." She stated with quiet assurance but a visible sadness crept into her tone and was reflected in the smallest of frowns.

"Fine? B, the guy's freakin' out!" Faith argued with an incredulous look at the blonde. "He just up and changed into teenwolf without a moon of any kind to take credit. I'd be a lil' on edge too if I was him."

"Really?" Giles' shot a concerned look at Buffy to confirm Faith's statement.

"He was pretty shaken up when he came to. I don't blame him for being paranoid but…" Buffy frowned momentarily. "He and Willow are…kinda rocky right now." Buffy admitted with a sigh. She rested her cheek against her hand. Faith thought she looked rather small with her knees pulled up beneath her on the armchair she was nestled upon. "I've been keeping out of their way."

"Danny boy's just glad he didn't eat anybody." Faith said and then chuckled, "Yet."

"We were more concerned about what might eat _**him**_." Buffy corrected to a spot on Giles' coffee table. Her eyes widened in realization and they snapped back between Faith and Giles. "But of course if he had eaten anyone that would be also a bad thing. Very bad."

Faith raised a bemused eyebrow at the blonde.

"Someone's extra weird today." The younger slayer scrutinized her sharply and Buffy suddenly looked like a deer trapped in headlights.

Luckily Giles cleared his throat, implying he had something to say, giving Buffy a reason to look away.

"I remain unconvinced that we are in any real danger, girls." Giles affirmed as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and stood away from the desk.

"The results of the spell that Willow performed, although slightly peculiar, are not a cause for alarm. I just can't believe we never bloody tried it before! I can think of at least a dozen past situations it would have come in particular use." The ex-watcher shook his head in stupefied amazement.

"In the case of an immediate threat, whether it ranges from rather bothersome to apocalyptic there would be a noticeable increase in supernatural activity. There would be a rise in the demon population not the opposite. Those kinds of events attract attention. Evil does not flee from chaos and destruction; it feeds on it and invites dinner guests."

"There's still some_**-thing**_ clearly stickin' around, Rupert." Faith insisted adamantly. Giles bristled at the cavalier use of his first name.

"What you've seen are probably the dregs of the Hellmouth, Faith; scavengers and phantoms that pose no real harm. It's likely you've only noticed them because of a shortage of more substantial foes of a physical nature." Giles' explained calmly. "Sometimes these hotspots of demonic activity have cooling periods, if you like. Just as there are times when things are–

"Boiling with demon-y goodness?" Buffy tried with her head tilted thoughtfully to the side.

"Exactly," Giles nodded wryly. "It is simply the ebb and flow of the Hellmouth's influence – nothing more."

Faith looked resolutely unsatisfied as she scowled silently into space. Giles sighed and removed his glasses to clean them.

"At any point in the past month have you been physically accosted?" He asked patiently.

"No, but—!"

"And you admitted that neither of these shadow…'beings'…attempted to attack you?"

"Yes…" Faith replied with an edgy tone. Before she could expel her next rebuttal, Giles had already given her a knowing look and she growled in frustration, rising to her feet.

"Fine, then explain what would make a werewolf change for no reason?" Faith gestured as she leaned back against the counter and internally shuddered in the immediate presence of the whirring fan.

This time Giles wasn't as quick to shoot her down. He placed his glasses back on and laced his fingers together, his index fingers resting against his chin. He appeared to be silently considering everything discussed so far.

"There are spells…rituals I could perform to determine the current state of the Hellmouth." Giles revealed with a weary sigh. "It has the strongest sway over the supernatural forces that reside here and is the most likely cause for his unanticipated transformation. It may also illuminate on reasons for the drop off in demon numbers in the area."

"You could do that?" Faith inquired with hesitant interest.

"If it would ease your fears, yes."

"I'm not afraid—!"

"No, I understand that." Giles added quickly with all the patience and kindness of a loving father. "Poor choice of phrase, I apologize." He cleared his throat uneasily. "I will investigate the matter to alleviate your suspicions. And for Oz's sake too, of course."

Faith looked mostly pleased with this promise of action and the majority of her tension seemed to drift away along with the artificial breeze of the electric fan.

"In the meantime there's something I want you both to do."

Buffy perked up from her silent daydreaming at Giles' announcement.

The Englishman's eyes twinkled as a warm smile graced his lined face. "Enjoy the free time you've both been granted and…" He paused trying to remember something, "…'find the fun' – as Faith would say."

A wide smirk pulled at Faith's lips as Buffy had a violent coughing fit.

* * *

"I don't think he knows what I mean when I say that." Faith wondered aloud, her smirk still firmly in place as they stepped outside into the harsh sunlight.

"God, I hope not." Buffy moaned, looking mortified. "Otherwise he's become our pimp.

Faith laughed so loudly that Buffy glanced fearfully over her shoulder at Giles' open front door.

"I bet he chokes on his tea when he puts two and two together." Faith predicted with a lazy grin.

"You'd be surprised how naïve he can be to our young people lingo. I think this may be a case for ignorance is bliss." Buffy mused and then when a look of delight crossed Faith's face and she turned to go back to the house the other slayer grabbed hold of her arm and firmly added, "And we should keep it that way."

Faith pouted under Buffy's stern stare and turned away from the house. She wiped away at the sweat forming on her brow under the intense heat, then the same hand suddenly slapped against her forehead.

"Crap." Faith uttered looking annoyed. "We didn't tell him about the army guys."

"What?" Buffy asked absentmindedly, adrift in her own little world.

"The G.I Joes playing hide and seek when we were luggin' Oz back." Faith clarified. She looked at the blonde oddly.

"Oh, right. I'm sure it was just frat guys being…" Buffy blinked, her voice sounding far away, "…fraternal."

"Like maybe they lost a bet?" Faith was attempting to catch the other slayer's eye, without success.

"Maybe." Buffy hugged herself, rubbing at her own arms despite the sweltering temperature.

"Are you okay?" Faith blurted out, sounding more impatient and irritated than concerned. "You've been actin' strange all day."

The dazed blonde finally met Faith's worried gaze then blinked rapidly as if stirring from a walking sleep.

"Oh, I'm fine. Sorry. College stuff. Brain's all frazzled from the amounts of learning I'm yet to do." She shrugged with a smile that wasn't as convincing as she'd like to think. It might work on some of the others but Faith had the other slayer's tricks and tells engraved in her memory.

"Huh." The younger slayer placed her hands on her hips and gave Buffy a quick onceover. She watched the shorter girl cross the small courtyard and sit on the rim of the stone fountain that sat in the welcomed shade of Giles' house.

"Wanna talk about it?" Faith tried, unwilling to let the topic drop as she took a seat beside the blonde.

"And bore you?" Buffy simpered with a mock look of dread.

"I'm sure I'll live." Faith assured with a teasing grin. Buffy composed herself with a heavy sigh.

"Well…my roommate's done a disappearing act that would make Houdini proud." Buffy offered with a shrug that seemed to come from a place of indifference rather than concern. "Not that I'm complaining. One more day with her and I think I would've snapped. Gone all Norman Bates on her stupid, Celine Dion worshipin' ass – and she was always clipping her nails! They were everywhere! What was up with that?"

Faith's eyebrows slowly rose from a combination of interest and bemusement.

"Right. Not important." Buffy nodded with a serious yet bashful expression. "Though…" Buffy frowned with the beginnings of a pout as she stared glass-eyed at the ivy snaking across a nearby wall.

"This might just be my giant ego talking here but I'd hate to think I was impossible to live with."

Faith's short snort of laughter caught Buffy's attention and she looked at the other slayer with mild annoyance.

"You have your moments." Faith teased, looking distantly thoughtful for a second as she played with the change in the pocket of her cutoff denim shorts. "Moments that sometimes require the consideration of strangulation."

Faith's left arm took the impact of Buffy's fist with ease as she chuckled.

"Nah, you're cool." She admitted in a manner of someone begrudging the statement. She smiled lopsidedly at the blonde beside her before sobering and asking, "So that's all that's trippin' you?"

"Pretty much…I mean the workload is bracing – but I'm coping. There've been no nocturnal trysts to distract me and Willow's basically a human encyclopedia so for once I'm actually on top of my studies."

Buffy smiled reassuringly at her counterpart but was faced with an unimpressed stare. Faith exhaled as if staving off anger and rested her elbows on her knees and her chin in her open palms as she glared at the ground.

"I can read you like a book, B." She declared to the tanned tiles paved beneath their feet.

"You read books?" Buffy jested with an uneasy smile that went unnoticed. She gulped hard as she sensed her doom fast approaching.

"We said no more lies."

Faith knew those five simple words would be enough to break down whatever wall Buffy was attempting to build around the cause of her distracted, solemn behavior. It was an unpleasant reminder of Angel and the secrets and excuses born from his unexpected return; many which she'd kept from Faith herself. The moral of the story had been that lies and secrets don't make good bedfellows with trust and friendship.

Faith looked up at the older slayer and met eyes swimming with guilt. Buffy opened her mouth to speak and blushed. With an exasperated sigh she rolled her eyes slowly upwards as if searching for the right words.

"It's stupid." She grumbled sulkily.

"Try me." Faith countered as she shifted beside the gloomy blonde to face her better. "I'm an expert in that field."

Buffy smiled weakly. The smile had long vanished before she finally spoke again.

"There was a guy." Buffy started. Faith sat patiently despite the tension she felt building inside her chest. "Everything was going great…really great…we…" Buffy couldn't bring herself to say the words but the colour of her cheeks and the way her eyes rolled was enough for Faith to draw the dots together.

"Oh. Oh! Well…good for you, freshman!" Faith recovered after her initial shock with an air of her usual sexual swagger. She wriggled her eyebrows, "Way to rebound."

Faith sobered as Buffy's posture turned downcast and she remained quiet. Faith scratched at the back of her head, running her fingers through her thick, wild tresses as she constructed her next sentence a little more sensitively.

"You really liked him, huh?"

"Yeah." Buffy admitted quietly, a brief smile fluttering across her face before her expression turned hard. "By the looks of it so did the girl I found him talking to the next day. Used the same spiel and everything."

"Wow." Faith looked torn between disgust and in awe of this mystery guy's nerve.

"I should have seen it coming. He said he didn't want to rush into anything. He seemed so nice. So believable. And I fell for it. I'm an idiot."

"You're not an idiot, Buffy." Faith retorted heatedly as she placed a consoling hand on her shoulder, "You took a chance. It turned out to bite you on the ass."

"I'm an idiot because I used to see guys like him coming a mile away in high school and I'd size them up and spit them out, no biggie." Buffy lamented bitterly, "A couple of weeks at college and I fall for the first one."

"What's his name?" Faith demanded with an air of forced politeness.

"Parker."

"Where's he live?"

"Faith…" Buffy pleaded, already sensing the hostility rising in her sister slayer like an angry rattlesnake.

"All I wanna do is meet the guy with the balls to taste Buffy Summers and refuse seconds." Faith said coolly with an easy smile as Buffy's blush spread across her neck and she looked away. "I'm gonna shake his hand."

Buffy turned slowly to gape at the younger slayer with a look of incredulity. Then Faith's jaw clenched and her eyes turned cold as she leaned in to add, "And break his fingers."

Buffy relaxed and smiled briefly before she brought out the puppy dog eyes.

"I'll promise not to kill him." Faith raised her hand as if taking an oath. "That's my best offer considerin' the circumstances."

"I feel used, Faith." Buffy said miserably, ignoring her humor. "I feel like gullible, guy-chasing pre-Sunnydale Buffy. I'm the slayer. I shouldn't have to feel like this." Buffy had her head in her hands and the raw innocence of her words caused the majority of Faith's anger to melt away. She sighed the rest out in a single, long breath of frustration and acceptance.

"Buff, I'm sorry. It's a sucky situation." Faith wrapped her arm around the other girl, squeezing her shoulder. "Just try to look on the bright side. You're no longer having a dry season and you don't have to deal with boyfriend baggage."

Buffy rolled her eyes despite the soft smile that lifted the corners of her mouth.

"I can't…look at it that way." She shook her head sadly. "I don't know how you do the casual sex thing. You make it look fun. You don't let your heart get in the way of your…other…areas." Buffy's eyes darted back and forth from the brunette as she blushed slightly. "It's all just want, take, have. You want someone. You take them. You have them. I wish I could do that." Buffy sighed wistfully as she leant her head against Faith's shoulder.

"No, you don't." Faith said softly, her voice huskier than before.

"I do. Then I wouldn't feel like this. I hate feeling like this. I've had enough of _**this**_ to last me a lifetime!" Buffy gestured around herself then dropped her hands into her lap. Her eyebrows rose in a curious manner as she added, "And since most slayers don't usually live this long my life suddenly makes a whole lot more sense."

"That's a crappy way to look at things."

"Well sometimes life hands you crap." Buffy shot back irritably.

Faith frowned. She took her arm away from Buffy and seized her head between her hands, guiding her face to look up at her own.

"Trust me, B." She whispered softly, leaning in closer as she looked purposefully into the older slayer's hazel-green eyes, "The way you think, the way you work, the way you…love – there's nothin' wrong with it. It's who you are, don't change for nobody."

Buffy scrunched her face up at the other slayer with amused bemusement.

"What happened to 'you need to loosen up and find the fun'?" She inquired suspiciously, "When did you become so at ease with me and my ways?"

Faith relinquished her head and shrugged.

"I had you pegged wrong. There was a reason you seemed like an uptight prude when we first met. But he's gone now."

"And yet here I am, falling head over heels to get my heart stomped on. Again."

"At least you take the risk." Faith argued suddenly turning shy. "Sex is great for scratching that itch but that's about all it's great for. You don't wanna be like me."

Buffy gazed thoughtfully at the other slayer for a long moment while Faith squirmed uncomfortably under her stare, but pretended to be preoccupied with scuffing her boots on the ground.

"Maybe if I'm so perfect you should follow by example." Buffy abruptly challenged causing the brunette to look at her questioningly. "Take the risk yourself."

"And be a blubberin' mess when it all falls apart?" She grimaced. "No thanks. I've got enough reasons to lose my mind."

"Try it with me." Buffy offered simply.

"Try what?"

"I dunno just…tell me you love me. See how it feels." Buffy shrugged casually.

"What?" The stark look of shock in Faith's eyes and the slight gape of her mouth made Buffy giggle.

"Now who's being a prude?" She teased batting her lashes.

"The notches on my bedpost care to disagree." Faith leered boastfully.

"Come oooon. Don't be chicken." Buffy pouted as she prodded Faith in the arm.

"I like you as a friend." Faith smiled sardonically as she glared at Buffy, "Sometimes."

"Wow. Catch me before you sweep me off my feet." Buffy deadpanned. "You've gotta say it one day, eventually you're gonna meet someone that just makes you want to scream it at the top of your lungs. No matter how hard you act, cupid's gonna getcha!" Buffy warned, prodding Faith again for emphasis. The younger slayer smiled, just happy to see the troubled blonde's mind on something else; even if it consisted of her being tormented.

Faith remembered blinking slowly, vaguely listening to the continued teasing coming from a suddenly very talkative Buffy. She remembered taking one long look at the remarkable features of the stunning girl beside her, smiling to herself at each quirky mannerism her sister slayer portrayed. And then with a deep shudder of a breath she had said it.

"I love you."

The declaration was so quick it was practically one syllable.

The silence that followed was excruciating, but it turned out the snort of unrestrained giggling that came next redefined the word for Faith.

"Wow. Remember when you do this for real, enthusiasm is key." She sighed as her laughter came to an end, wiping away a tear as another chuckle escaped her.

But when Buffy finally noticed the look on Faith's face her smile evaporated as she felt her heart sink into her stomach.

"Faith…?" Buffy's voice was unnaturally quiet. She had seen a look of unadulterated misery sweep across the other girl's features that hadn't made sense.

The younger slayer blinked rapidly as she abruptly stood, looking somewhat dazed as she forced an unnecessary smirk.

"I should go…" She swallowed hard. "Got my shift soon. Chuck's on my ass as it is."

"Faith, wait!" Buffy called as the other girl had already made several large strides away from her. Faith looked over her shoulder, not quite meeting Buffy's eye line. "I didn't mean to offend you—"

"S'fine, B." Faith cut her off with another grin that was just as forged as the last.

"We were just playing a game…I—"

"Uh huh," Faith nodded and continued to smirk casually as she raised her hands in a gesture that told Buffy to relax. "It's fine. Don't sweat. I'll see you later."

Buffy watched Faith leave as fast as she humanly could without full out running. She sat back against the fountain, stunned into paralysis with only the rhythmic chirping of the crickets to accompany the revelation taking shape inside her head.

* * *

The gentle knocking on the dorm room door startled Willow from the meticulous study of the book in her lap and she put it aside, rising from her bed with hopeful anticipation.

"Come in!"

The door opened a slither and Buffy's head came into view.

"Hey." The slayer smiled in the sympathetic way she hadn't been able to shake off in Willow's presence since Oz's surprise transformation.

"Oh, hey Buffy." Willow tried quickly to hide her initial disappointment with a forced smile. "What's up?"

"You thought I was Oz." Buffy assumed as awkwardness swiftly descended upon her. She could see it written all over the redhead's face.

"Guilty." She confessed with an abashed half smile.

"How are things between you and him?" Buffy asked gently as she came fully into the room and closed the door.

Willow's head tilted slightly at the question as her mouth twisted and her eyes looked away to the side.

"He's distant. Which ya know…used to a silent Oz, but he's not saying what he's thinking anymore." Willow explained fretfully as she busied herself sorting through the impressive stack of books piled high on the small dresser beside her bed. "He completely wigged out. I think he feels he's lost control of what's…inside him."

"Must have been pretty scary for him." Buffy considered quietly. She walked further into the room and something on Willow's desk caught her eye. The tabletop was covered by the map of Sunnydale they had used before, however this time only one faint pinprick of light was marked on its surface. "What's all this?"

Willow glanced toward the map and fidgeted on the spot.

"I thought it'd be a g-good idea if I kept the spell going so I could keep an eye on Oz." Willow explained hurriedly as if the activity were a terrible crime she was hiding.

"How long have you had this spell going?" Buffy's eyes narrowed as she noticed countless overlapping snail tracks where the burning light had moved around the map.

"A couple of days…maybe three or more, I uh, lost track." The Wiccan played with her necklace as she gazed vacantly at the desk.

"Doesn't that require like…energy or something?" Buffy queried with concern. She'd noticed the dark circles that had formed under the redhead's strained and slightly bloodshot eyes, her hair was disheveled along with the patterned dress she was wearing.

"I have to keep sprinkling the dust every half hour…and I may have had to steal some of his hair to localize the spell to just his position but uh…please don't tell him." Willow pleaded with eyes filled with sudden fear. "I'm in full out crazy girlfriend mode and I don't think I can stop."

Buffy took the witch's hands and sat down with her on the nearest bed.

"We're gonna figure this out, Will." Buffy promised softly as she ran a hand through her friend's hair. "I won't let anything happen to Oz. Life would be too quiet without him."

Willow faced Buffy with the beginnings of a smile.

"T-Tell me what's new with you. I feel like we haven't spoken properly in weeks." Willow said expectantly. Her eyes lit up suddenly and she asked, "Oh! Didn't you say you had a date with that Parker guy?"

In an instant Buffy's caring gaze crumbled.

"Oh…that's a bad face." Willow frowned as her eyebrows rose in alarm, "It didn't go well?"

"It went…places." Buffy sighed, unable to look her friend in the eye. "It didn't involve any long term plans with me put it that way."

Willow pouted for her friend.

"I'm sorry. He seemed so nice and friendly, he was even kind of—" Willow noticed the steadily increasing look of deflation on her friend's face. "—a stupid jerk face who smells bad. I could curse him with the face of a dog. Not a cute dog but like, well I don't wanna say 'ugly dog' cus that's just mean…"

The babbling redhead frowned.

"A Chihuahua!" Buffy's left eyebrow quirked upwards at Willow's exclamation. "One bit me when I was little so I consider it being even." Willow clarified defiantly with her head held high.

Buffy couldn't restrain the grin that was created by Willow's speedy role reversal from comforting friend to vengeful harbinger of the eternal sisterhood.

"They always seem nice at first." Buffy sighed returning to the topic at hand. "Then before you know it you're in bed together and all that follows is shame, pain and hell itself sucking your world into oblivion."

Willow regarded her friend, mouth agape, as if unsure of how to reply to Buffy's blunt comment.

"But I mean – plus side: got some, got gone. That's something right?"

"Who am I speaking to right now?" Buffy's nose scrunched up in bewilderment at Willow's uncharacteristic crudeness and leaned away slightly as if she were examining an imposter.

"Well it's what Faith's always saying!" Willow blurted defensively despite the red tint to her cheeks. "I mean I don't think you should be like Faith but she has a lot of, uh, fun, and she always seems really upbeat and satisfied in an obvious kind of way, not that I'm implying – or judging! No judging at all. You and Faith can do whatever you want with whoever you want, your slayers, you've earned the right to have steamy, no-strings-attached spanky fun and for the love of good slap me or something!"

"Spanky fun?" Buffy laughed at a humiliated Willow.

"I…I-I haven't had much sleep." Willow admitted quietly as her gaze shifted continuously to Buffy and away again. The slayer closed the gap between them and gave Willow a generous hug. Over the slayer's shoulder she added, "Plus I think there's something caffeinated in that powder."

Buffy leaned away smiling at her best friend.

"I appreciate the pep talk. If we can call it peppy." Buffy said dubiously but with sincere gratitude. Her half-smile faded when she spoke again, "But you don't have to act like Faith. According to her nobody should."

Willow didn't miss the dark cloud that had appeared over her friend's head.

"Is there something wrong – with Faith?" Willow pried with tentative curiosity. "She didn't…S-T-A-B someone else, did she?"

"No! No, it's…n-nothing." Buffy lied as she failed completely at acting calm and indifferent. She stood up and paced the room when she found Willow's prying gaze too much to bear. The redhead's eyes narrowed.

"Did she sleep with Xander again?" Willow's accusation made the slayer spin around.

"Not that I'm aware of?" Buffy grimaced comically.

"Hm. It's just he seemed a little happier than usual when he came by earlier, thought maybe he'd—"

"Xander's back?" Buffy asked astonished by the revelation. She hadn't heard anything of his exploits during the summer break, though she had assumed he had kept safe despite his lack of communication over the last couple of months.

"Yeah, you...look surprised. Why do you look surprised?" The witch looked alarmed.

Buffy became a little flustered at the question, insecurely wrapping her arms around herself as her eyes avoided her friend. It suddenly dawned on Willow and she snapped out of her befuddled haze.

"Oh. Duh. You're asking that he's back so of course, this is news to you. I really need to get some sleep." She reprimanded herself again with a quick, guilty smile, "Anyway, I'm sure you'll bump into him eventually. I don't think he's being avoid-y. You'll be glad to know I told him off for being such a bad pen pal."

Buffy laughed and reassured the Wiccan with a smile.

"It's okay. My pride is only marginally hurt. It's a flesh wound." She quipped with a mock nod of resignation. She smiled expectantly and asked, "How is he?"

"Good. Seemed kinda reluctant to talk about his summer vacation. Something about working off a debt in a less than fun way. Maybe you can use your slayer strength to squeeze the juicy details out of him." Willow suggested eagerly as a mischievous smile appeared on her face.

"I'm afraid with great power comes great responsibility." Buffy warned drolly.

Willow cocked an extremely dubious eyebrow.

"I'm responsible!"

"Okay, Miss broke into a weapon store." Willow mumbled as she innocently looked away, pretending to keep an eye on the map.

"That was one time!" Buffy cried affronted. "And…Faith pushed me into it. There was definite pushing involved."

"So responsibility crumbles in the face of peer pressure now?" Willow teased. Buffy took a mental note of how much a bad influence Giles had been on her over the years. She mockingly glared at her friend in silence.

"You should move in with me."

Willow's smug look melted into one of confusion at the abrupt invitation.

"I…huh?"

"I'm missing a roomie." Buffy explained. "Thought you might like to fill the space."

"She bailed?" Willow asked in shock. Buffy imagined that dropping out of college was classed as something truly heinous in Willow's books.

"Looks like."

"So whatcha say?" Buffy asked, impatient with excitement and expectation. "Yay or nay?"

"I say yay. Much yaying." Willow beamed enthusiastically. "On one condition though."

"Sure, name it." Buffy shrugged confidently.

"I don't want your bad girl influence rubbing off on me so don't try to con me into robbing the city bank or whatever it is you criminal types do – I wouldn't last a day in prison."

Willow giggled then screamed when Buffy pounced on her.

* * *

Buffy left Willow's dorm room with spirits slightly higher than before but a small frown still pulled at her pouting lips. The witch's relationship problems were a distraction from her own catastrophe of a love life and now, walking away from the dorm, the intense loneliness she had felt all day returned with a vengeance. She wanted to cry and scream and hit something repeatedly.

Men – why did she bother? They all seemed to turn evil after she bedded them. Maybe her experience was somewhat limited but she definitely had the right to be forming a very justified complex.

And then there was Faith.

The look on her face had been something she'd never seen on her before. It was heartbreak. She had looked completely and utterly heartbroken. She knew it was always dangerous to make Faith bare her vulnerable side; if she took something badly it would leave her cold and unresponsive to future heart-to-hearts. Buffy groaned internally, knowing she had some serious repair work to do even if she didn't quite understand why.

"Note to Buffy," She said wearily to herself, "when pretending to be the object of romantic conquest, don't reject the other person's declaration of love. Especially if they're a girl and have never even said the words out loud before—"

Her eyes went wide as she pieced it together. Buffy felt the blood drain from her face and came over lightheaded as her vision blurred. She was positive her heart had stopped mid-beat, she felt cold and hot simultaneously, her throat was bone dry—

Her epiphany was cut short when she collided blindly with something solid and staggered backwards. She blinked a few times, safe in the knowledge she was concussion free and looked upon the obstacle that had impeded her path.

"Oh, god. I really have to stop doing that—" Her eyes registered the person in front of her and a bashful smile replaced her former look of severe shock. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to push this new, inexplicable piece of information down into the pit of her stomach and into the furthest recesses of her mind. "Hello, again."

"We really have to stop meeting like this." Riley teased in his usual good natured way.

"Believe me, I try. It would help if I looked where I was going more often. I have this problem with concentration."

"Sounds serious. Hope it's not contagious." The handsome man towered over her a good few inches and as Buffy craned her head up to meet his eye line she saw a look of concern sweep his features. "You look miles away. Is everything okay?"

Buffy nodded, her smile not quite meeting her eyes.

"Parker." Riley sighed in irritation at the mention of the name.

"What?" Buffy's eyes were wide and naked. "Who said – I didn't – ah, do I even wanna know how you found out?" Buffy bemoaned in defeat.

"He was boasting. I didn't like the way he was talking about you so…I kind of punched him?" Riley disclosed.

"Oh..."

"In the face." Riley added coyly.

"Yeah, that'll do it." Buffy felt strangely numb at the revelation. She had expected to feel something more along the lines of satisfaction and triumph but was left wanting.

"It was a stupid thing to do, I know." Riley rubbed at the back of his head, oddly embarrassed by admitting his behavior to Buffy.

"No. It wasn't. There's actually quite a line building for the 'hurt Parker' club. Compared to some threats I've heard you went pretty easy on him." Buffy confessed as she wrapped her arms around her chest.

"Thanks for…looking out for me." Her genuine smile caused Riley to reflect one of his own.

"Anytime. Not that I have a habit of hitting every guy who takes advantage of a pretty girl – I said that out loud didn't I?"

Buffy simply beamed at him, her cheeks reddening from the unexpected compliment. Riley coughed awkwardly into his fist and shifted restlessly on the spot.

"Listen, I'd love to stand here and continue to make a complete fool of myself but I'm already running late."

"It's okay." Buffy laughed. "Sorry again for the corridor collision. I feel like we should exchange insurance details." Buffy quipped humorously. Riley chuckled, began to walk past her then faltered and turned back around.

"It's a T.A meeting kind of thing. Real boring. I promise I'm not making excuses."

Buffy had to laugh at the boy's genuine dismay at seeming bad mannered.

"Riley. Its fine, I believe you. Go…assist."

"Hey, if you're free later maybe we could talk some more." Riley offered, trying to act casual. "Preferably about something other than Parker."

"I'd like that." Buffy's face brightened noticeably. "You know the bronze?"

"I've heard of its reputation, yes."

"It's all lies. Really. Well, depending on what you've heard." Buffy admitted distractedly as she contemplated the many paranormal encounters she'd had there then shook her head, "Is nine good for you?"

"Perfect. It's a date." Riley smiled then realizing his wording, opened his mouth to correct himself. He dithered in the corridor then gave an awkward goodbye.

Buffy watched him walk away and her smile became permanent.

* * *

"Professor Walsh." Riley greeted the stern looking woman as a secret elevator was revealed behind the mirrored wall in front of them.

"Agent Finn." She nodded curtly as they both stepped inside and waited for the wall to slide back into place. "Do you have a report on last night's assignment?" The professor asked as the elevator descended beneath the foundations of the Sunnydale College campus.

"We caught the hostile between nineteen and twenty hundred hours." Riley stated in a steady monotone as he stood to attention beside the professor. "The precise timing is a little hard to figure out – it wasn't exactly a routine extraction. We think it was tracking another potential hostile when we intercepted it. We were lucky it was distracted – Samuels almost lost his arm."

"But the trap worked?" Walsh pushed on impatiently.

"Eventually, yes." Riley admitted, grudgingly adding, "Your expert clearly knows what he's doing."

"Let's hope so." She replied sharply. "This whole fiasco's gone on long enough."

The elevator came to a complete stop and the doors slid apart to reveal an expansive underground research facility. The pair moved out across the even concrete as soldiers marched by in regimented troops and military vehicles designed for moving supplies milled past at a busy pace.

A middle-aged, dark haired man with flecks of gray at his temples approached them in a white lab coat.

"Doctor Angleman." Walsh greeted the scientist as he joined them to their destination. "What state is the hostile in?"

"Stable, we think." He said whilst consorting a clipboard, ticking items off with a pen.

"You think?" She asked tersely, her arms folding across her chest as her ironclad stare bore into the scientist. The long punishing hours of recent events had left them both tense and tired.

"Well, it's uh, hard to tell." Angleman flustered momentarily, wavering outside the reinforced door they had reached. Walsh watched him sigh and something in his expression unnerved her. He seemed extremely apprehensive. "You'll see what I mean."

He punched the code into the panel on the wall and the door slid apart with the sound of metallic resistance. A short corridor was revealed, lined with containment cells along either side. As they entered the two scientists and agent Finn were greeted by guttural growls and angry snarls as inhabited cells showcased their unhappy occupants. Walsh paid the demons little mind and approached the far end of the corridor where a soldier stood guard next to the last cell on the left.

It was different from the others – it had been custom built just for its current prisoner. The transparent wall was molded around a metal mesh that hummed continuously with electrical energy. The mesh covered every surface of the cell, but as the guard stood aside and Professor Walsh stared into the holding cell she couldn't see the rest of the mesh cage or the polished white walls of the cubicle – only darkness.

"Well?" She asked impatiently, looking from the guard to the scientist. "Where is it?"

"It's in there, Ma'am." The soldier assured tensely. Something in his voice made her face him properly and she noticed his tight, fearful expression. She scowled and turned back to examine the modified cell.

"Well put the lights on then." She demanded irately.

"They are on, Professor." The soldier said uneasily. "They're at maximum output. There's no difference."

"Fascinating." Walsh breathed with a mix of awe and scientific intrigue. "So it absorbs or blocks light. That's progress." She squinted into the depths of the cell, keenly trying to detect any movement. She watched the mist-like matter surge back and forth towards the transparent glass like the tides of an ocean.

"My…god…" She whispered as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She could now make out black swells shifting and twisting, undulating and contracting like a living organism. Something caught Walsh's eye and she noticed a shape far darker than the rest of the mass. She narrowed her eyes and watched the inky, amorphous thing slither through the unfathomable void. She leaned in closer, her nose almost pressed to the glass.

The shapeless thing abruptly changed direction and rushed with violent speed toward her face. There was a tremendous bang that shook the glass accompanied immediately by a loud crack as the mesh sparked violently, causing the professor to jump back.

Walsh steeled herself as the guard agitatedly handled his shock rifle. She pressed her finger against a switch on the wall turning on the intercom.

"I don't know if you can understand me. Frankly, I don't really care." Walsh addressed the silent darkness as she leaned in again. "This town used to be a breeding ground of supernatural activity and in mere months it's all but dried up."

"And yet you, and your kind, remain." Walsh sneered through the glass. "Now that strikes me as highly suspicious wouldn't you agree?"

No reply came from the darkness. Only the palpable tension in the men beside her and the raised hairs on the back of her neck left her convinced that something actually dwelt within the confines of the reinforced cell.

The Professor sighed irritably and released the intercom button.

"I'm wasting my time. Where's Rubinstein? He's meant to be the expert on these things."

"He's in the sleeping quarters. The man needs the rest after the shape we found him in." Angleman explained offhandedly, engrossed in the observations he was noting down.

"Fine. We'll schedule further testing and try to classify its species tomorrow. I can't wait to see if it can be dissected." She smiled cruelly, giving the black mass a final glance.

She turned from the three men, noticing a demon a few cells away acting strangely. As she approached the cubicle she realized the creature behind the glass, a species that was notoriously fearless and extremely aggressive, was cowering against the right side of its white-walled prison. The creature rocked steadily back and forth on it haunches and every once in a while it shot a terrified glance toward the opposite wall. She realized it was staring in the direction of the—

"Maaaaaaahhh…ggieeeeeee."

A chill swam through her blood. She spun around and cast accusatory looks at the three men behind her.

"Who said that?"

"Who said what?" The scientist inquired with a curious expression as Riley and the guard exchanged looks. Walsh strode back till she stood before the unfathomable darkness once again.

She glanced cautiously into the cubicle; its contents as unknowable and alien as a starless night sky. Something glinted in the murk of inky black and she stepped back slightly.

"Are you okay, Maggie?" Angleman asked in concern as he watched her carefully.

"I'm fine." She claimed briskly before addressing Riley and the guard, "You two are excused. I'll contact you when we have further intel on this hostile."

The two soldiers nodded and made their way to the exit. Walsh furtively watched them leave and remained silent until the door slid shut with a faint metallic hiss.

She turned to Doctor Angleman, and in a voice just above a whisper, said, "Project 314 needs to continue with as little further interruption as possible. I want this creature examined, dissected and explained. Report back to me when it's done."

Before leaving, Walsh paused in front of the cell and leered into the unyielding darkness behind the glass.

"We'll tear it apart if we have to."


	6. A Bump in the Night

**A.N: So...I'm alive—despite the rumours and that funky smell coming from my room. I won't deny the fact it's been a hell of a gap since my last update but life got on top of me and it doesn't help that I have a god awful gift for procrastination. Add writer's block and general laziness to this list of excuses and you start to see the picture of why this update has taken some considerable time. I hope I can be forgiven for the wait. I promised I wouldn't leave either of my current stories unfinished and I stand by that promise. It's just a case of finding the time these days.**

**As always your feedback drives me to produce more for these stories and now more than ever I need to be reassured that this is a story you're all enjoying, but most importantly I want to know why you're enjoying it.**

**More soon...fingers crossed.**

* * *

**A bump in the Night**

Faith hopped down the last few steps of the stairs and walked barefoot into the living room of the Summers' residence. Joyce was in the process of putting on a set of expensive looking earrings in front of the mirror above the fireplace and she turned when she heard her houseguest enter the room; absentmindedly singing under her breath to some fast-paced rock song stored away in her head.

"Someone's in a good mood." Joyce noted with an amused and curious smile.

"What can I say?" Faith said huskily as she adjusted her top around her generous bust. She flashed the older woman a wide smile, "Tonight I'm feeling optimistic."

Joyce took a moment to take in Faith's racy attire. It had been many weeks since Faith had worn leather pants, revealing clothing or heavy makeup and tonight all three were out in force. Tight, dark red leather jeans were worn just below the brunette's bare midriff and above this clinging to Faith's body was the skimpiest, most low-cut black top Faith owned, a simplistic skull and crossbones embossed just below her immense cleavage. To complete the look Faith's naturally pretty face was masked with a shade of lipstick that matched her skin-hugging jeans and eyes outlined so thoroughly that her dark pupils seemed to jump out from the white's of her eyes.

Faith's appreciating gaze drifted from the mirror to Joyce.

"What?" She asked as she noticed the furrowed lines of concern forming on the other woman's face.

"Nothing!" Joyce assured a bit too quickly. A kind smile forced its way onto her face as she said, "You look very..." Joyce paused to find the right word. She kept her expression polite as she finally settled for, "Colourful."

"Too much?" Faith asked while turning on the spot, before adding with a coyly mischievous grin, "Or too little?"

"Put it this way," Buffy's mother started with her eyebrows rising substantially, "I've never seen that much of your chest before."

"I guess it is a little revealing..." Faith admitted as she ran her hands along the sides of the garment and continued to check herself over in the mirror. She was focused solely on her curvaceous, yet deceptively slim form when she said, "Been a while since the twins have seen this much air." Then glancing quickly back to Joyce in embarrassment added, "Sorry."

"It's okay, dear." The older woman laughed lightly, still tickled by Faith's habit of constantly apologising for her lapses in behaviour or blunt way of speaking ever since she'd moved in.

"Is there anyone in particular you're trying to impress in that outfit?" Joyce asked in that suspicious, motherly way she'd tweaked to perfection after years of practice on her own daughter.

The slayer didn't speak for a moment as she continued to stare back at her reflection.

"No." Faith replied honestly. She chose not to voice the fact she wasn't feeling particularly picky tonight...

"I see." Joyce smiled warmly. Then with a sly smile added, "Though if I remember rightly, when I was your age it never hurt to turn a few heads."

"Joyce, you minx!" Faith swatted the older woman on the arm playfully as Joyce's face flushed slightly, unable to prevent the smirk born from nostalgia that pulled at her lips. "I bet you had 'em lining up." Faith wriggled her eyebrows and Joyce laughed at the younger girl's ever exuberant personality.

"So what exactly are you up to tonight?" She asked, skilfully changing topic. She walked toward the coat rack next to the front door and Faith followed as she answered.

"Nothing major." Faith shrugged and idly noticed the effect the motion had on her already heaving bosom. "Bronze. The usual suspects. Cheap drinks. And as much dancin' as I can fit into one night."

"Sounds like fun. Just don't overdo it." Joyce warned good-humouredly as she wagged a cautionary finger at the slayer before sliding into the arms of her coat.

Faith let out a bark of a laugh. "I'm not a lightweight like some slayers I could mention." Seeing the questioning look on Joyce's face, Faith's eyes bugged and she changed tact. "Not that Buffy drinks a lot. Or often at all really. She can't even handle the hard stuff."

Faith rolled her eyes upward in exaggerated annoyance at that last admission, feeling that it was enough to ease Joyce's possible fears. The look on Miss Summers' face said otherwise and Faith suddenly felt like a deer blinded by the headlights of a fast approaching vehicle.

She was still getting used to living with a mother that actually cared about the conditions her daughter and her friends got themselves into. She chose to look downward at her bare feet and fidgeted with the hem of her top as she could think of nothing else to say that would improve the awkward situation.

There was a moment of silence and Faith expected to receive a lecture or stern word from Buffy's mother but instead a soft chuckle tugged her gaze up from the patterned rug in the foyer just in time as Joyce pressed a kiss on Faith's cheek.

"You're both big girls. I trust you to make the right decisions. Just don't do anything I wouldn't do." She smiled before opening the door to leave. "I'll be home late. Don't wait up." Faith dumbly waved Joyce off from the door still feeling taken aback by the act of motherly affection. She managed to wish Joyce a good night before closing the door.

She smiled absentmindedly to herself and walked back over to the mirror.

"What are you doing?" she muttered sadly, sighing at her extravagantly sexual appearance. Her reflection didn't seem to have any answers for her so she walked away from the fireplace, went in search of her heeled boots and proceeded to put them on as she sat on the bottom steps of the stairs.

She hadn't spoken to Buffy since the morning outside Giles' house and she knew there would be questions she'd need to answer when she finally came face to face with the other slayer; which would be in a matter of minutes depending on how slow she chose to drive. It wasn't too hard to imagine how her quick getaway must have looked to Buffy and she could only hope that the usually prudish blonde wouldn't have come to any worrying conclusions considering what their topic of conversation had been—especially considering that topic.

Faith physically cringed as she relived the moment for the five-thousandth time that day. She'd spent the majority of her shift at work plotting the quickest way to get out of town.

When she found herself fantasying about jumping the next bus to Los Angeles Faith had to stop the path her mind was taking and realise her anxiety had risen to a ridiculous level. She forced herself to remember she had a good thing going here. For the first time in her life she had something worth sticking around for. Faith had people that genuinely cared about her, an honest job, a car that she personally owned and was living in an actual house. Compared to her abysmal history where stealing and doing unsavoury favours for the worst kinds of people got you what you wanted; hotwiring cars for joy rides and sleeping in fleabag motels seemed a thing of the distant past now.

Good riddance, Faith thought sourly.

Tonight she would enjoy herself. There wasn't a single vamp in town. No demons, no approaching apocalypse. Giles' was on top of the strange disappearances and he'd only given her one instruction; have fun. She intended to do just that despite her newfound insecurities created since being in Buffy's company earlier. She would forget the nightmares, the look on Alan Finch's face when she'd sunk a stake through his chest, the smiling hallucinations and above all she would forget the whole circus of emotions that seemed to crop up out of nowhere whenever Buffy was in the immediate vicinity.

Faith's stomach gave a nauseous somersault at that last thought and she suddenly felt the overwhelming need for a little liquid courage. Luckily, Faith knew where Joyce kept the good stuff.

* * *

"No."

"Come on! Pleaseeee!" Faith begged in a way that was seductively desperate.

"Not for all the money in the world." Xander declared, raising two pressed fingers in oath. "No bribe shall pry the secrets from my lips."

"What if...I flashed you?" Faith yelled over the music that thumped out of the speakers. Her eyes were wide and filled with devious intention.

Xander choked loudly on his drink and after a minor coughing fit, he paused to gape stupidly at the grinning slayer. Several seconds passed as an internal battle of immense proportions raged between Xander's fragile dignity and his traitorous adolescent hormones.

"Say the magic word and it's a deal." The look on Faith's face could have swayed a preacher to commit rampant sin. Faith's eyebrows rose in anticipation as her fingers hovered wickedly toward the hem of her strapless top. Xander's face began to twitch as he made a series of incoherent choking sounds.

"I think we've lost him." Oz supplied with an amused grin. He sat on an adjacent overused, black couch with Willow resting against his side. Her expression mirrored that of her boyfriend.

"Sorry, Faith." She sighed heavily, "I don't think we're ever gonna find out what Xander did at that strip club."

Faith rolled her eyes at the gawping boy in question and fell back into the cushioning of the couch she was sharing with the catatonic Xander.

"Kill joy." The brunette sulked and turned back to the beer she'd managed to coerce out of the bartender; much to everyone else's envy. She gestured toward her chest with the cold bottle, "The girls are disappointed – they've missed you." She said huskily, pouting for a moment before winking at her dumbstruck friend. Xander's face continued to twitch and spasm as he drank from his own non-alcoholic beverage, happy to have an excuse to use his mouth for something other than blabbering half coherent caveman grunts.

They had been at the Bronze for about an hour and despite the shady neighbourhood in which it resided the nightclub's popularity was beginning to show. The number of people milling around the place and crowding the dance floor had easily tripled since their arrival.

"So...when's the Buffster getting here?" Xander asked after he had assumed some semblance of control over his raging hormones and active imagination.

"Soon." Willow affirmed confidently. She sat tangled in Oz's arms as her head rested on his shoulder. "I think she's bringing someone with her. She probably met up with him first."

"Him?" Faith asked abruptly. She had been initially relieved then curious to the lack of Buffy's presence when she'd arrived at the Bronze, having steeled herself for the encounter. Now Faith was more anxious to know what was taking the other slayer so long.

"Uh, yeah. Riley." Willow said whilst looking slightly surprised by the slayer's sharp and sudden interest. "He's a nice guy. I've seen him once or twice. Mostly when he works with Professor Walsh."

"Oh." Faith relaxed slightly. For a minute she'd thought Buffy had given Parker a second chance; which would have been bad since Faith had been working so hard on the not murdering people thing and if she had been given the opportunity to meet him tonight there might have been an unfortunate 'accident'.

"Wait." Faith scrunched her brow together as if trying to recollect something. "Is this the guy B clobbered with a book?"

"Uh, yeah. That was how they first met...heh, kinda funny really...if you were there." Willow replied, becoming steadily more nervous under the intensity of Faith's gaze. The slayer remained quiet and thoughtful for a moment then shrugged indifferently.

"I s'pose it's a step up from the last guy." Faith grunted indifferently. Xander looked from the surly slayer to his best friend, his face a mask of bewilderment.

"Am I missing a whole lot of everything here?" He asked in confusion.

"There was this guy," Willow explained carefully, "He and Buffy...got close quite fast."

Xander continued to look lost.

"They screwed." Faith clarified bluntly causing Xander's eyebrows to rise comically as Willow did her best disapproving face at the brunette slayer's insensitive handling of the subject matter.

"Wow. You go on a summer long road trip and suddenly you're out of the loop." Xander lamented with a laboured sigh.

"Hang in there, chief." Oz quipped with a wry smirk.

Faith scoffed and rearranged herself moodily into her corner of black leather. "She knocked her rocks, Xand." Faith said hotly, gesturing her hands into the air with exasperation. "Hardly newsworthy."

"This is _**Buffy**_." Xander reinforced dramatically. "The vampire-who-shall-not-be-named aside, she's never been with anyone else. For a Valley girl she's practically a saint."

"She lost her virginity to a dead guy." Faith reminded him with one raised eyebrow.

"You know what I meant." Xander argued. "Ever since ground zero she's been pretty picky about who she shares a bed with."

Faith shrugged, "Either way she's needed uncorking for way too long. Girl's gotta get serviced sometime, right?" She grinned broadly, wriggling her eyebrows and receiving an abashed laugh out of Xander. He still had a tendency to act the same way around the younger slayer as he had done when he first met Buffy.

"He was human. That's progress right?" Xander quipped dryly. Willow had been frowning at the pair's Anti-Angel banter but remained silently displeased as Xander continued, "Can't underestimate how much I appreciate a permanent soul in a guy."

This time Willow made an incredulous sound.

"Because people with souls can't do bad things?" Willow challenged sarcastically. Xander opened his mouth to reply then froze and turned suddenly very sheepish.

"I—not exactly..." Xander flustered then subtly tilted his head to the right and Willow's gaze flickered to the slayer beside him. Faith looked incredibly uncomfortable all of a sudden and Willow wondered how her foot had found its way into her mouth.

"Oh! Faith, I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it!" Willow rushed out as she felt her cheeks grow warm under the neutral stare of the brunette. Faith shrugged and took a swig of her drink.

"It's fine." She sighed, trying her best to smile off the comment. "You made a good point. Souls are overrated." Willow smiled weakly, sinking into Oz's side to keep her nerve around the often intimidating personality that Faith possessed; whether she was aware of it or not. "I for one could live without all the guilt."She chuckled half-heartedly.

"But Parker's not a murderer." Faith admitted sourly. "He's just a guy following his junk around college and far too worried with how many girls touch it to realise what a colossal asshole he is." She finished animatedly, eyes flashing dangerously as she returned the bottle to her lips and took an enthusiastic pull of the amber liquid inside.

"Ding ding! We have a winner!" Xander cheered eager to break the unsettling tension building up from the girl beside him. Faith rolled her eyes but accepted the waiting high five from the enthusiastic man-child all the same.

"Jeez, you really have it out for the guy." Willow said in surprise, "I mean I was all ready for turning him into the amazing dog-faced boy but you make it sound like he did this to you."

Faith kept her cool despite the fact her heart was now beating frantically in her chest, as her curious behaviour had been pointed out and from the looks on Oz and Xander's faces they seemed to find Willow's observation strange too.

"I've met his type before." Faith clarified with a brief and solemn smile. "They sucker you in. Get the goods. Then along comes the sudden case of personal amnesia and it's, 'Faith who?'" She finished the last of her drink and put the bottle down on a table behind the couch. As she sat back down she added, "S'where I learnt the whole get some, get gone philosophy. Too many times made me a cynic."

The others exchanged not so subtle looks.

"I know, hypocrite, right?" Faith grinned with a guilty shrug of her slender shoulders and furtively noticed Xander battling the urge to look south of her face at that moment. She shrugged again, slower this time. "But its funny how no one seems to mind when it's the girl using a guy for a quick fix."

"Hey. Up here, Captain Subtlety." Faith snapped suddenly causing Xander to jump out of his entranced daze. Then she sultrily added, "You had your chance to see the twins and you blew it."

"It's not my fault! They're all bulging out of your top...area." Xander blustered shamefaced, Oz and Willow watching with amusement as he tried to make excuses for his wandering eyes.

"Who's bulging out of what now?" asked a familiar voice nearby.

Everyone turned to witness the newcomers. Buffy approached accompanied by a tall, handsome man. Faith noted that Buffy's outfit looked downright conservative compared to her own. In turn she felt the odd impulse to hide her chest or grab her jacket out of the car. The sheen of sweat on both their faces told Faith the temperature outside was still unbearable so she quickly changed her mind.

"Boy am I glad to see you!" Xander cried with overt joy and jumped to his feet to seize Buffy in a hug; clearly happy for the distraction her presence had provided.

"Nice to see you too." The slayer chuckled as she returned the hug. "Did the party start without me?" She asked with mock concern to the gang. She noted the close proximity of Willow and Oz and she gave the witch an amused smirk. Her eyes finally fell on Faith and found the brunette was looking determinedly at a lock of her own hair that she was playing with. It took Buffy a moment to realise what she was wearing and her jaw went slightly slack. Faith finally looked her way and shot Buffy the briefest of smiles.

Faith subtlety took in the flattering pastel halter top that left Buffy's arms bare past the shoulders and the dark skirt that just passed her knees. Her hair was done up in a loose bun which Faith knew from recent experience was the blonde's attempt at keeping the heat away from her neck. Faith bitterly wondered if the original slayer could look amazing in anything or if it was just her biased opinion.

Riley, who had been lingering at the back behind Buffy, cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Oh!" Buffy shook her head after a hazy moment and regained her composure, "Guys, this is Riley. Riley, guys."

"You obviously remember Willow from the library incident." Willow gave him a friendly little wave.

"This is Oz, her boyfriend." He raised a hand in greeting.

"Xander." Her friend shook Riley's hand before sitting back down beside Faith.

"And this is—"

"Faith." The younger slayer cut in, extending a hand to Riley which he took without hesitation. She applied enough force to make him think twice about taking her hand so easily in future.

"Strong grip you got there." Riley noted as he winced. She released his hand and he shook the afflicted appendage. "Do you and Buffy go to the same karate class or something?"

"Or something." Faith grinned predatorily up at him. It was amazing how much smaller he now seemed in the presence of the confident brunette.

Buffy and Riley took seats opposite Faith and Xander. The blonde slayer found her eyes drawn to Faith's clothing once again and she struggled to hide her disapproving frown.

"So how exactly do you know Buffy?" Riley asked with interest. "Did you go to Sunnydale High too?"

Faith's lips stretched into a lazy smile.

"We met at work." Faith supplied. She smirked at the way Buffy was glaring wordlessly at her before giving a careless shrug and leaning back in her chair to enjoy the show.

"Oh? I didn't know you had a job?" Riley asked curiously, turning to Buffy.

"It...uh...was a volunteer type thing." Buffy stammered nervously, feeling her cheeks redden as a lie fought to take shape in her head. "Working with—"

"Cemeteries." Faith butted in again. Buffy shot a slow, murderous glance at the wildly amused slayer who stared back with a questioning rise of one eyebrow.

"Cemeteries?" Riley repeated as his confused gaze shifted between the two slayers and Buffy slowly tore her warning eyes away from Faith. Xander, Oz and Willow seemed to be watching Buffy with rapt attention. "As in..._**dead people**_ cemeteries?"

"Uh...yeah. That's what she said." Buffy forced a smile that barely hid the irritation in her voice. "We mainly...patrolled...for...vagrants!" She suddenly burst out with enthusiasm. "Troublemakers, grave robbers, Goth kids. Y'know, doing our part for the community. Keeping it safe." Buffy finished with a serious nod. Riley looked like he was trying to figure out if this was a joke but when no one laughed he simply congratulated them both on their generous work. An internal sigh of relief seemed to pass through the whole group.

Buffy managed to veer the conversation elsewhere after that and Faith's fun was halted for good.

She resigned herself to listen to the pleasant but boring small talk among the scoobies until she became too antsy to endure it any longer. Faith couldn't quite put a finger on the cause of tension building inside her. It could have just been the mundane chitchat, the fact Buffy seemed to be acting like the episode at Giles' house had never happened or maybe it was how comfortable the blonde slayer already seemed in the company of this Riley guy. It could have been a combination of all three, but whatever the reason it was slowly, but surely, causing something deep within her to reach boiling point.

She needed an excuse to distance herself from the group—and fast—if only for a few minutes.

"I need another drink." Faith stated resolutely as she got to her feet ready to head to the Bronze's bar. She wasn't entirely sure she'd be returning.

Riley got to his feet too and she eyed him curiously.

"Let me. I'm more than happy to get in the next round." He offered in an effortlessly gallant way that set Faith's teeth on edge. He beamed at her with his perfect teeth and her eye twitched slightly. She shook her head.

"That's okay. I'm a big girl I'll manage." Faith replied flatly. The others exchanged awkward glances while Buffy looked simply confused. Riley sat back down looking somewhat confused as Faith disappeared around the corner.

"Excuse me a minute." Buffy rose to her feet quickly and followed the retreating slayer. When she caught up she grabbed Faith's arm and turned her around.

"Can you be a little less hostile?" Buffy yelled over the music as she pulled Faith to a more secluded part of the venue.

"I dunno. Can I?" Faith asked with an ironically thoughtful look. She folded her arms and leant back into the column behind her that supported the upper floor of the nightclub and stared coolly into the crowd. However, it was fairly obvious from her shifting gaze and the way her voice had rattled when she spoke that something was bothering the brunette slayer.

"And what's with the Pretty Woman getup?" Buffy bit back, gesturing to her entire outfit. "I didn't know your job paid that badly."

Faith scoffed at the other slayer's remarks and looked away with disinterest, "There was a whole era before I knew you where I wore this and worse. Maybe you just forgot how I looked when we first met? Bet you didn't think much of me then either." Faith sneered with a cold glance at the blonde.

"I...I didn't...that's not true."Buffy flustered, feeling shamefaced as she remembered how she had internally judged Faith on first appearances back when Cordelia had snidely pointed her out on the dance floor as she grinded up against a soon-to-be-dead vampire at this very nightclub. The blonde ignored the memory and decided to change tact, "So now you're just back to this?" Buffy asked in bewilderment. "Just like that?"

"Just like that." Faith echoed mockingly as her eyes distractedly roamed the interior of the Bronze. "Got a problem?" Faith instantly regretted sounding so antagonistic but was too far gone to apologize now.

"I liked how you looked in a dress." Buffy admitted quietly after a pause, her eyes earnestly boring into Faith. The younger slayer stared back suddenly, a flicker of surprise in her features as she swallowed hard. Her face became neutral again quickly.

"Things change." She managed huskily, unable to control the emotions beginning to pile up once again after talking to Buffy for little more than five minutes. She looked away, needing to distract herself with the activity around her before she went mad, or worse, showed vulnerability for the second time that day.

"Faith." Buffy spoke sharply to get the brunette's attention back. Faith turned to look at her slowly, but keeping her cool was proving an extraordinary effort. Buffy was peering into her eyes with concern and after a moment she softly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nuthin'." Faith shrugged, giving a smirk that barely hid the conflict coursing through her. "All fives here, B."

"Why are you acting like this?" Buffy exclaimed with sad exasperation. Faith wouldn't meet her eye and looked down at her own feet.

"Is this..." Buffy hesitated, looking suddenly coy. She leaned closer to the silent brunette so she could lower her voice but still be heard over the din of the club. "Is this because of earlier?"

Faith let out a dry, derisive chuckle. It didn't help the nervous blush staining Buffy's face.

"Please. Stop." The other slayer sighed with a pitying smile.

"Look I didn't mean to upset you. I know how sensitive you can be about that stuff and—"

"No, seriously? Stop." Faith glared at Buffy, an inch away from her face, with such emotion that the blonde was struck speechless.

With that Faith pushed her way past Buffy and into the throngs of the club, disappearing into the crowd.

* * *

Riley scratched at the back of his head awkwardly and said, "She seemed...angry."

"Don't worry that's just Faith. Sometimes she's angry, sometimes she's flirty and sometimes she combines the two and everybody hides." Xander quipped comically. Then with a lopsided smile added, "You get used to it."

"Faith is plenty friendly." Buffy cut in as she reappeared. "She's just...the protective type. She sees a new guy around me and she jumps to conclusions." She stated with a shrug. "She just doesn't want to see me get hurt again." Buffy gave Riley a small assuring smile, happy that there was at least some truth in her fabrication.

"Should I watch my back?" Riley chuckled.

Buffy's laugh came out as more of an awkward cough.

"Just give her time." Buffy reassured him, trying to hide her anxiety over the other slayer's behaviour.

Shortly after, Xander invited Riley to a game of pool with Oz taking on the winner. The trio disappeared off into the club and Willow took the opportunity to sit next to Buffy now they were alone. She looked like something was on her mind and before Buffy could ask, Willow had already blurted out her apparent concern.

"Is it just me or did Faith seem more passive aggressive than usual just now?" The witch asked curiously.

"She's fine." Buffy said before swallowing a sip of her drink. "She probably just had a long shift at work or something. Maybe no one tipped her." She quipped with a shrug.

"I dunno..." Willow looked thoughtfully at her friend, "You said something about her earlier."

"Really, it was nothing." Buffy assured impatiently, wanting desperately to avoid all Faith-related topics at that moment. Willow didn't look convinced and the slayer sighed. "You know what Faith's like. It's impossible to know what's going through her head half the time and one minute you're talking to her and everything's peachy and the next she's getting all weird and there are mixed signals and you end up feeling very, very confused...about stuff." Buffy ended lamely, cutting her rant off as her eyes shifted nervously. "I should add that this confused individual is highly hypothetical."

She saw Willow's growing confusion and eventually Buffy caved with a loud groan and covered her face with her hands as she leant back into the couch. She then explained the conversation she'd had with Faith earlier at Giles' and how it had lead to a role-playing game that had left Faith's pride seemingly wounded.

"Well, I guess I could see how that could ruffle her feathers." Willow mused as she sipped from her drink. "She's never been big on the whole relationship thing. Maybe saying I love you is a big deal to her? Like, huge even. I mean from the bits and pieces I've picked up on her family history I doubt love played a big part in any aspects of her life."

Buffy took this into consideration and her heart plummeted to the bottom of her chest. She hadn't considered that at all. Now she felt awful for goading Faith into playing along.

"Boy do I suck." The slayer mumbled with a half smile at her friend.

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself." Willow said softly. "I'm sure when she comes back you can sort this all out."

"If she comes back." Buffy muttered under her breath, before turning her small frown into a big smile and adding, "Anyway sticking to the topic of love...you and Oz looked pretty comfortable over there." Buffy gave her best friend a knowing smirk and the redhead smiled coyly. "When did he come around?"

"He came to see me not long after you left actually. He told me he'd been missing me like crazy and there was much discussion on what we thought we should do and at some point there was kissing—which was nice! But uh, I may have, uh, done a teeny, tiny spell on him."

Buffy blinked.

"What kind of spell?" Her friend asked cautiously, knowing full well that magic could be a dangerous thing to toy with from the multitude of bad experiences she'd had with it over the years.

"Well I'd run out of ideas so it's more of a temporary fix. Basically, as far as other demons are concerned, they won't be able to recognize Oz' wolfy alter ego."

"Other demons?" Buffy's brow creased with puzzled curiosity.

"I figured whatever made Oz change out of the blue had to be something magical or demonic in nature so this spell seemed the best bet at stopping them doing it again."

Buffy nodded silently, lacking any proof to state it could be anything otherwise.

"We both saw that map, Buffy." The witch continued seriously. "Supernatural beings are disappearing and whatever's taking them must have targeted Oz and somehow forced the werewolf part of him to the surface."

"I know, Will. I just..." Buffy frowned to herself unsure of whether she should tell her friend what she thought of recent events. She recalled how much of an anxious wreck the Wiccan had been earlier and decided voicing her worries would only cause more damage than good. She decided to take a positive route. "Giles is on top of it." She nodded confidently with a fresh smile. "We'll know what's going on soon enough. Watcher's promise."

* * *

An hour passed and by the time the boys returned, full of vigour from their competition, Faith was still absent. However, since everyone present who was familiar with Faith knew she was unpredictable and perfectly happy to find entertainment solo, not much concern was voiced.

Buffy spent the next couple of hours reminiscing with her friends. She listened to Xander talk about his road trip and became just as amused by the prospects of what might have happened at that fateful strip club. She discussed her courses and general campus goings on with Riley and Willow, and even engaged Oz in a conversation about what days Dingoes Ate My Baby would be playing the Bronze or other venues round the Sunnydale Campus. She was content with the evening. She was happy with how her friends, the majority of them anyway, were responding to Riley. Nothing short of a demon attack could ruin her night, and since that was unlikely to happen she felt more relaxed than she had in weeks.

But every once and a while her eye would be dragged to the dance floor, as if by a supernatural force. The first few times she was greeted by the mass of moving bodies accompanying the music that pounded out through the speakers. But eventually she spotted a lithe, contorting form that put every other to shame. Faith was pressed up against a man Buffy didn't know but this information didn't surprise her. What surprised her was the level of furious passion the slayer was channelling into every roll and swing of her hips. The music was slow and Faith's body mimicked the snail-like pace of every beat, sliding around her partner like a snake slowly descending a pole. It took Buffy a moment to realise her jaw was hanging slack.

She continued to watch the show Faith was putting on with a mixture of shock and awe and something else she wouldn't admit to anyone. She hoped no one had noticed the rapt breath she was holding or the glazed look in her eyes because she would be at a loss to give a coherent answer at that moment. Faith was moving so fervently against her partner it almost looked like she was trying to merge their bodies together in the most inappropriate ways possible. Buffy felt herself blushing just from watching at a distance and had to look away several times to properly clear her mind of the thoughts Faith's extremely sexual movements were creating. But like a moth to a flame she kept going back, unable to tear her eyes away for more than a few seconds.

And as she watched this unknown man hold onto Faith's swaying body, his hands running up her thighs, into her hair and over her chest, his face pressing into her neck as her fingers ran down his back, Buffy felt a strange feeling bubble up inside her chest. It was a cross between illicit curiosity and a form of childish envy that made her feel suddenly very possessive of the other slayer. Her brow furrowed in confusion at the feeling but her body was responding in a whole different way and she squirmed in her seat as both emotions elicited a heat that turned her cheeks and neck red.

"Buffy?" The slayer spun around; worried she'd been caught red-handed and found Willow looking down at her questioningly.

"Huh—wha?" She managed in a jittery state.

"I asked if you wanted anything." The witch said with her arm around Oz' waist, "We're making the last trip to the bar. I need to get back to the dorm soon."

"Oh, right. Uh, no thanks. Thanks." Buffy rushed in a flustered manner and cleared her throat, realising abruptly how dry her mouth was. "Actually, maybe a bottle of water, please?"

Willow nodded and smiled before heading off with her boyfriend. Buffy watched the pair go and turned to find Xander and Riley talking about something sport related that she had no interest in or knowledge of. Her eyes freely drifted back to the dance floor.

Buffy scanned for her intended target for several minutes but found her to be missing. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she tried to crane her neck around to see more of the nightclub. Eventually, disappointed ,she gave up.

Faith was gone.

* * *

As they collided against the brick wall of the abandoned building opposite the Bronze Faith could vaguely make out the sound of a dumpster rattling in protest to their frantic movements before she shut out all outside stimulus and attacked her latest conquest with violent enthusiasm. Her lips latched onto his and she kissed him in a way that caused an involuntary moan to echo in his throat, his lips too preoccupied to let it escape into the humid night air.

Encouraged by this sound the slayer slid her hand up his face, grabbed a tuft of his short black hair and pulled hard. The guy, who's name evaded Faith's memory, yelped in surprise and said, "Hey! Careful..."

She ignored him and took a firm grip, pulling harder and drawing him deeper into the rough, merciless assault of her mouth. Apparently deciding the pain was worth the other things this aggressive girl was doing the overwhelmed man didn't protest a second time and let her continue, beginning to work his hands up her sides and down to grab at her rear. The brunette growled approvingly into his mouth and one of her hands snaked down the muscles of his stomach.

The kiss grew so intense that oxygen intake lay forgotten to the rampant ministrations of Faith's tongue and the hungry urgency of her mouth. The man moaned into her mouth and without warning Faith responded by biting down hard on his bottom lip.

"Jesus! Watch it!" The guy jumped away from Faith and put a hand to his mouth. When he drew it back it revealed she'd drawn blood. Faith let out an angry sigh and rolled her eyes.

"Take a hike." She said in a tone that clearly stated her frustration and disappointment.

"What?"

"If you can't keep up I'm no longer interested." She explained with cold detachment.

He glared incredulously for a moment. Then he pointed an accusatory finger at the slayer and in a cold, menacing voice said, "I don't think so. You started this and you're gonna finish—ahh!"

With his wrist in a vice-like grip and twisted painfully at his back Faith leaned in from behind him and purred into his ear, "If you don't leave in the next five seconds not even you'll be able to _**finish**_ this."

The man whimpered slightly as she squeezed a little harder then yelped as she tossed him forward and he staggered. He looked back with genuine fear and she stared him down, watching him walk quickly down the street.

Faith crossed the alley and fell back against the exterior of the Bronze. Goosebumps raced across her skin as her bare back touched the cold metal and she let out a long, shaky breath. Her head thudded back and the faint ring of the metallic wall and the way it vibrated back into her skull caused her to close her eyes. She repeated the action several times.

Then with abrupt anger she growled into the night and threw a discarded bottle into the shadows of the alley.

The sound of breaking glass did little to satisfy the anger rolling inside her chest and pressing onto her stomach but it did turn the heads of a few bystanders hanging outside the nightclub. A couple nearby who had been preoccupied with their conversation turned sharply at the noise then spotted Faith leaning against the wall.

"What? No camera?" She called, leering at the pair staring curiously her way. They quickly looked away and walked further down the alley. Faith spat a dismissive sound at their retreating backs. She pressed back into the wall, her legs bending underneath her as she felt herself slide slowly downward. Feeling comfortably numb from her inebriation, Faith slumped carelessly to the ground.

Someone staggered drunkenly at the end of the alley apparently a little worse for wear as they keeled against the wall of the disused building beside the Bronze. Faith watched them fumble about in the dark before turning her attention skyward.

It was a clear night and a bright crescent moon sat in the inky depths of endless black. She watched the stars twinkle innocently until a menacing smile flashed in front of her face and she almost screamed. Faith's hand had flown to her mouth and erratic, heavy breaths rattled from between her teeth as she slowly regained control.

Nothing was there. She'd imagined it. Faith glanced back up at the curving form of the lunar body high above her and she physically shuddered, forcing herself to look at the ground or her knees or the occasional person milling in or out of the Bronze's entrance.

Faith couldn't understand why she was so angry. She had no right—deep down beneath the teeth of the snarling, selfish beast inside her she knew that. But it didn't stop the anger from forming anyway.

She pushed her fingers through her hairline, deep into the hair she'd painstakingly straightened back at the house. She'd tried so hard tonight. Tried to take the shape of the carefree girl she'd truly once been. Faith had attempted to look beautiful, unattainable and dangerous. And in a way she knew she'd been successful when she glimpsed the captivated expression on Buffy's face when she'd first noticed her sitting with the others. The intimidating posture, the aggressively confident gaze lined with far too much make up and alluring lips smeared dark red in warning to those who would dare to approach her. Buffy had drunk in all these details, and with slow realisation, seen through the charade and frowned in disappointment.

Buffy knew her to well for her to try to go back to her old ways now. But Faith knew her fellow slayer just as intimately.

Faith felt her before she heard her.

"Where's your new friend?"

"Halfway up Everest if he took my words literally." Faith grinned lazily to herself, demonstrating how unfazed she was by Buffy's presence.

"What?" The older slayer's nose scrunched up in bemusement.

"He left." Faith clarified dully.

"Oh."

"Why? Worried I'd confess my feelings for him and get laughed at?" Faith asked with snide and abrupt sarcasm.

Buffy sighed and shifted her weight to the other hip impatiently as she gave the reclining slayer a tired, withering look. "So you lied about being fine. Surprise of the century."

Faith rolled her eyes as she turned away from the blonde.

"What do you want, Buffy?" Faith sighed.

"I wanted to apologise properly for earlier." Buffy offered quietly. Faith rolled her head around to give the other slayer a pensive stare.

"Why?"

"Because...I've realised maybe it wasn't the best subject to bring up around you. It was insensitive to ask you to do that and then to laugh." Buffy sighed irritably. The whole speech sounded rehearsed and Buffy looked displeased after hearing it said out loud.

"Okay." Faith said nonchalantly after looking at the other slayer for a long moment. "Apology accepted."

"That's it?" Buffy sounded extremely surprised.

"Yep." Faith raised her eyebrows expectantly, "Unless there's something else you wanna share?"

Buffy fidgeted on the spot as if preparing to say something then opted to just shake her head. Her bowed head missed the disdainful look Faith shot at her.

"Then I reckon you should just go back inside and bat your eyes at Randy the giant." Faith said dismissively, gesturing her head to the Bronze's entrance.

"Riley." Buffy corrected through a clenched jaw.

"Who cares?" Faith cried exasperatedly.

"What have you got against him?" It was clear Buffy's contrite approach was being replaced by anger.

"Hey, I'm sure he's swell." Faith raised her hands in casual defence. "Looks worth a ride."

"Ugh, I can't talk to you when you're like this." Buffy blinked, appalled and turned away from her.

"Guess we won't be talking for a while then." Faith said loud enough for her to hear, determined to get the last word in.

"You are unbelievable!" Buffy shot out over her shoulder.

"So I'm told." Faith muttered with a humourless chuckle. She listened to the retreat of the other slayer's footsteps and then they stopped and a genuine but shaky laugh tore Faith's gaze away from the ground. Buffy was coming back now and the blonde's eyes were wet with unshed tears. Her smile on the other hand was anything but forced, however it still betrayed some unuttered apprehension buried inside her.

"This is stupid." She said shaking her head with a sad smile. "I'm not doing this...I'm not...you said you loved me." Buffy stammered out with angry determination. She took an unsteady, calming breath afterward, blinking wetly as she struggled to look Faith in the eye.

Faith just stared, stone-like.

"And...I'd like to pretend that you didn't mean it like you did, but...the more I think about it..." Buffy lost her voice for a moment but managed to force herself to continue, "the look in your eyes...I'd noticed it before—so many times...I just never realised—" Buffy's mouth gaped uselessly, so she settled for sliding her hands up and around her own neck, looking petrified of saying anymore. She paced slightly around the other slayer.

"Right." Faith nodded, robotic and glass-eyed. Buffy stopped her pacing and faced the slayer, gesturing down at her.

"This—right now—is telling me I can't pretend it was harmless because you're acting like a jealous schoolgirl." Buffy practically shouted. Faith remained downcast and silent. Buffy's hard features softened slightly and she knelt down beside the younger slayer.

"Faith, talk to me." She tried gently. "Please. I'm not mad or upset I just wanna know what you're thinking."

Faith nodded absentmindedly with that same glazed look on her face, like she was somewhere else.

"I'm thinking..." Her voice was a quiet rasp and she paused for a long moment. "...why would I love you?" Her eyes looked up in accusation at the kneeling blonde. "Why? Tell me?" She stood suddenly and Buffy had to do the same quickly to avoid being knocked over. Faith wavered slightly on her feet and the look on her face was one that Buffy recognized all too well. She'd seen it on the night Alan Finch had died and the days following that awful night. "Tell me why I'd love you, Buffy?" Faith repeated in a voice quivering with quiet fury.

Buffy sensed that every word following was about to be much louder.

"I'm just some second rate slayer playing little sister to the real deal. No education, no..._**real **_life, no _**real**_ friends—all on loan from you. No prospects or dreams, nothin' to give but what you see—why would I bother?" Faith ranted, gaining volume with each word.

"Faith, please—"

"No. I wanna hear the reason!" She snapped, prodding Buffy in the chest. "I mean how stupid would I have to be to fall for someone so far outta my league? Would I do it for the humiliation? The pain of watchin' you pine after some dusty, old dead guy when you had me—the only person in the world who knows you, truly gets what it's like to be you? I'd have to out of my mind, right?" Faith chuckled dryly as she raked her fingers back through her hair and paced like caged lion. Buffy watched her in stunned silence as a lump grew in her throat.

She moved to put a hand on Faith's shoulder but the brunette suddenly walked towards Buffy and the blonde backed up as far as she could until the Bronze resisted her progress any further and she was forced to come inches from Faith's glowering features.

"I am obsessed with you and it drives me insane." Faith confessed through gritted teeth, every word distinctly poignant. Her eyes had never looked so alive and filled with such heart-rending emotion. Buffy was helpless to stare back into them. "It's not fair I feel like this, Buffy."

Her hands had been on Buffy's shoulders but slowly they moved along her collar and up her neck. Buffy became suddenly aware of them when one of Faith's thumbs brushed along her jaw line and across her cheek in a way that made her breath hitch in her throat.

"F-Fa-aith." Buffy choked out in a hoarse whisper. She was trying to create the right string of words to stop the spiral Faith was going down but her mind was too transfixed by the possessive, yet gentle manner in which Faith's fingers were wrapping around the back of her neck. She stared wide-eyed at the other slayer, at the girl she now considered one of her closest friends and someone she truly trusted with her life and wondered when they had crossed this point of no return. Faith closed her eyes and leant forward, her forehead connecting gently with Buffy's as her fingertips stroked softly at the nape of the older slayer's neck.

Buffy found the willpower to slowly move her hands up to her neck. She cupped them around Faith's fingers, before gently prying her them away and lowering them to Faith's hips, still holding onto the tips of her fingers.

"It doesn't even bother me that...I'm feelin' like this for a girl, that's the funny thing." Faith suddenly spoke in a strained voice that registered barely above a whisper. "At first it was weird...but now..." Buffy watched a stray tear streak silently down Faith's cheek and her chest tightened painfully. The brunette forced herself to look up from Buffy's neckline and up to her eye level. "...now I just wish...I wish I didn't feel anything."

Before Buffy could question that last statement a figure appeared through the Bronze's doorway at that moment and as it approached Faith realised it was Riley. She exhaled with a combination of anger and humourless laughter, her head tipping back as she pushed away from the wall and from Buffy.

"Saved by the white knight, B." Faith joked joylessly, wiping hastily at her face with the back of her hand. "Lucky, for a minute there things could have gotten awkward for you."

"Is everything okay?" Riley asked as he looked from the shell-shocked Buffy to the retreating Faith and back again.

"Riley, sorry, I was just...dealing with something..." Buffy said in a choked and dreamy manner, her mind a hazy mess that caught up with reality a second too late when she heard the bitter echo of a laugh that came from behind her. She recalled her wording and immediately regretted it.

"Faith..."Buffy tried, exasperated and desperate as she wheeled back around.

"S'fine." The other slayer shrugged, as her face portrayed that it was anything but that. "Problem's dealt with. Problem's going home."

"You can't drive like this." Buffy argued, trying to regain her composure as she watched Faith backpedal away from them and the street light, as she approached the dark part of the alley.

"Then I'll walk. It's a nice night. Not like I've got anything to be afraid of is it, B?" She said snidely, smirking knowingly at Buffy before giving Riley a withering glance.

As she turned away toward the darkness, Faith barely had time to register the stretched blackened skin of something truly horrifying blocking her path just beyond the light, before its bear trap of a mouth swung open and screamed bloody murder into her face. She clapped her ears to her head in instantaneous agony to the head-splitting sound and was thrown backwards so hard that her feet left the ground.

Buffy watched in alarm as Faith's body sailed past them and hit the ground with a heavy thud. Something shuffled and bulged out of the dark, stepping into the light to reveal its full grotesque physique. But before Buffy could get a good look at it Riley stepped protectively in front of her. Buffy blinked in surprise before tossing him easily out of the way, watching him land roughly and roll across the alley to safety.

"Sorry, no time for a talk in sexism and heroics." Buffy stated quickly before running to meet the approaching monstrosity. It towered a good few feet above her and glared down with numerous unblinking, pupiless eyes.

"Tonight? Not the best time to piss me off." Buffy growled and spun into a high-angled, roundhouse kick that connected hard with the creature's wide, toothy face; whipping its head violently to the side. It whipped back round with as much speed and let out a shrieking roar. Buffy shot out three of her hardest punches in a row and each time the creature recovered with the elasticity of a rubber band. "You have to be kidding me!"

One of its twisted bulbous arms shot outward and grabbed Buffy around the throat, plucking her from the ground like a weed. It pulled her face within an inch of the tendrils of black, ichorous slime seeping from its gaping maw and hissed like a dozen angry cats. The stench emanating from its enormous mouth was worse than every dead thing she had ever fought combined and she would have gagged if she wasn't more preoccupied with gasping for air. Apparently bored of strangling the slayer, it threw her—hard—against the Bronze with a resounding bang that echoed into the street. Buffy landed on her feet, barely keeping herself upright as her eyes struggled to focus and she stumbled backward, stunned.

Faith, on the other hand, had recovered quickly and charged at the creature with a furious battle cry. She lashed out angrily with a vicious kick to the midriff and regretted it almost immediately. The bones from her foot to her knee felt like they'd splintered and the whole limb throbbed aggressively as she dropped it haphazardly to the hard ground. She hissed in pain as her weight piled pressure onto the aching appendage and was almost caught off guard when a hand, with claws so long it might as well have been a pitchfork, swung towards her face. She caught it with both hands just in time and grunted with exertion as she twisted the arm till the shoulder socket resisted, then kicked out with all her strength into the creature's back. There was a loud crunch, the monster howled loudly into the night and Faith, unable to keep her balance with her damaged leg, fell to the ground with a satisfied grin.

The shambling thing whipped its useless arm back and forth and with a sickening, squelching snap it broke off and an arm that was twice its size and far more deadly grew quickly in its place as the creature shuddered violently.

Faith's grin vanished.

In one sweeping motion the blackened hand of gargantuan proportions plucked her from the ground and lofted her so high that the nearby street lamp became blinding. Then its enormous fingers constricted savagely against her ribs and stomach.

Faith's scream reverberated horribly down the alley and in that moment, glimpsing numerous ivory eyes as cold and compassionless as any demon she'd ever seen glare up at her while talons as hard and thick as iron steadily closed around her torso, she felt with sudden fear that she was about to die.

She kicked in vain at the wide, bulbous head but then its claws squeezed harder and she felt all the air leave her lungs and her strength sap from her bones; her second scream of anguish muted to a mere raspy squeak. As the edges of her world began to blur and when the creature swayed violently, Faith prepared herself for the finishing blow.

But after a moment it never came. And when she hit the ground it was with less force than she expected. She rolled with a loud grunt of pain to see the monstrous being stumbling backward.

A length of metal pipe was imbedded through the mass of entwined black sinew that Faith assumed was its chest and luminous white blood was pouring from the wound and dripping out through the hollowed steel shaft.

The creature lurched forward and made to move towards Faith again but a figure slipped between them. When Faith realised it was Buffy she felt a wave of relief to see her alive; quickly followed by gut wrenching fear as Faith watched that same giant hand slash clumsily out at the older slayer. Buffy back flipped out of the way just in time and the creature's claws impacted with the nearby streetlight instead.

The pole sparked and fell to the ground in a silent arc that was shattered by the lamp smashing on the concrete. The alley was bathed in darkness ten metres in either direction and dead, white eyes flashed in the dark. And then as Faith's eyes adjusted she saw its teeth form a smile.

Her heart stopped.

The creature let out another ear-piercing roar and its black mass suddenly disintegrated, drifting upward and overhead like a swarm of insects, the air rushing past and blowing Faith's hair into her face. She watched in transfixed terror as the last part of it—that hideous mocking grin—evaporated into the darkness.

For a minute the gasping breaths of both slayers was all that accompanied the music echoing from within the Bronze in the dark alley; as they stared gormlessly in the direction the black mass had flew off in.

Riley broke the silence with laboured words that eventually formed an important question.

"What the hell was that?" He asked sitting winded on the ground where Buffy had thrown him. The two slayers said nothing and when their eyes finally met they noticed with little surprise that each shared a look of familiar dread.

* * *

Under the light of the lamp upon his desk Giles leafed through various tomes and documents. An operatic piece issued languidly from his radio and the Englishmen could feel himself succumbing to the beckoning of an early night.

He glanced at the clock high on the wall behind him. It was nearing midnight. He blinked, disbelieving the small black hands.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Giles had spent the better part of the day performing rituals and overanalyzing any passage with mention of Hellmouths and their documented behaviour throughout the centuries.

He had so far had absolutely no luck with either method.

"There must be something..." He frowned to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly. He hesitated a moment before taking a small, black address book out from the top drawer of his desk and picking up the house phone. He thumbed through the pages until finding the required address.

He dialled the number carefully into his phone and listened to the dial tone impatiently.

"Yes, hello? Is that Peter Camden?" Giles asked once he heard someone answer at the other end of the line. "It's Rupert Giles, from...yes." The Englishman paused to chuckle. "It has been a while."

"I believe I have a conundrum you may find to your liking, actually." He explained conversationally, as he rifled through his notes. "It concerns demon migration patterns, a Hellmouth and a creature seemingly born from shadows." He paused as the man on the line asked him to wait a moment as he checked his library.

When he returned to the phone, Giles furrowed his brow at what his old acquaintance had to say.

"On the contrary it's rather hot here." Giles admitted, glancing furtively at the little electric fan that still buzzed away on his kitchen counter. "Really? That's important is it? Oh..."

He hurriedly began to scribble down a disjointed summary of what was being said until something his friend mentioned caused the pen in his hand to freeze on its frenzied path.

"Oh dear." The ex-watcher said with the kind of reserve he'd become legendary for among the Scoobies. "You're sure? Absolutely?"

"What happens next?" As Giles listened to the gruff voice inform him of predicted events to come he felt the blood drain from his face.

"I see." He said quietly as this new information truly sunk in. "Thank you, Peter." Giles smiled briefly at the pleasantries being exchanged despite the fear growing in his chest. "Yes, yes I will. The same to you. Goodbye." He slowly placed the phone back on its cradle.

Giles didn't move for a few minutes as his mind raced to piece together the events of the past few days with what his friend had just told him. Faith's mysterious sightings, the dreams, the disappearance of seemingly every demon in town and the bizarrely premature transformation of Oz now made perfect sense. Mr Camden had confirmed a fear set deep in Giles' mind, one he'd pushed away with logic and common sense and most of all optimistic hope.

He suddenly stood and the scraping sound his chair made in the quiet house caused his heart to race erratically. He rushed over to one of his stacked bookshelves and rummaged through his collection with almost maniacal urgency. He exclaimed aloud to himself as he found the tome of his desire and plucked it from its crowded shelf.

"_...rrrriiiiiiip..."_

His head turned sharply. He could have sworn he'd heard—

"_...perrr..."_

He listened hard now, his eyes scanning the apartment as sweat beaded on his face. The monotonous ticking of his clock accompanied by the tinny sound of opera music coming quietly from the radio filled the otherwise deathly silence. A wind rustled leaves outside his window, he released the breath he'd been holding and approached his desk again, believing himself paranoid—

"_RIIIPPER!"_

Giles froze. He swallowed hard and heard the groaning creak of floorboards.

Something was moving upstairs. He slowly looked upward to the landing and something glinted down at him. Hovering above the railing was a smiling face.

* * *

To be continued.


	7. Trapped

**A.N: This update took longer than I expected but at least it's a decent size. I'll be revisiting Not My Generation in my next update because I've taken a long enough vacation from post-apocalyptic, crazy Buffy shenanigans and I think one of you might kill me if I leave it any longer!**

**Thanks for the great support on both stories so far and feel free to leave your thoughts on this update in a review.**

* * *

**Trapped**

**One Month Ago**

It was the middle of the summer break and Buffy's backyard was host to one of the many sunbathing sessions that had occurred throughout that hot week in August. Buffy lay on a beach towel in a pleasant daze as the sun's heat greedily warmed any inch of skin she dared to expose. She was hazily aware of the drone of a distant lawnmower and the rhythmic chorus of grasshoppers hiding in the nearby bushes. This peaceful symphony was occasionally broken by the sporadic shrilling of a bird's song or the playful laughter of neighbouring children, but did little to rouse the slayer from her tranquil bubble.

She was only faintly listening to the animated conversation taking place beside her.

The blonde rolled her head lazily to the left and peered over the top of her sunglasses to watch Faith retell one of her infamous slayer-related tales. Willow's eyes were wide and she had sat to attention besides Faith's reclining, scantily clad form; Buffy feared Faith would have sunbathed naked if she hadn't firmly stated that she required something at least PG-13 appropriate. On the other hand, Willow's excuse for her denim short dungarees that rested on the shoulders of her loose-fitting 'Geeks do it better' t-shirt had been an almost convincing cautionary tale of poor, pale, freckled redheads and their dreaded nemesis—sunburn. Buffy was inclined to believe it had more to do with the fact she had to compete with the physiques of two slayers in their prime, which, especially in Faith's case and her penchant for showing skin, were hard to ignore.

"That's insane." Buffy heard Willow exclaim in disbelief as she stared at her contented storyteller. The witch looked torn between awe and disbelief. Buffy smiled demurely, remembering how fascinated Willow had been with Faith and her stories when they had first met. Faith gave a husky chuckle as she turned away from the redhead and positioned her front toward the Sun's mercy.

"That's what I tried to tell the vamp but he just kept on hoppin' toward me on the one leg." Faith said reflectively.

"And d-did you beat him?" Willow asked, waiting with bated breath.

Faith's eyebrows made an appearance above her black sunglasses, "Still here aren't I?" She replied bluntly. Her smirk twisted into one of wicked design before she continued, "I cut the other leg off and after beatin' on him for a bit I weighted his body and threw him off the pier." Faith explained with visible pride, "He's probably still drifting along the bottom of Boston Harbor."

"You should write children's books." Buffy chipped in, managing to summon the required amount of sarcasm despite her blissful stupor. She barely stifled a yawn before adding, "It's like you have a gift."

"It was a vamp, B." Faith retorted in a loud, flippant manner. Willow peered nervously over the fence as if expecting the neighbours to have their ears pressed against the other side, "One that liked to eat kids—in creative ways." Faith exclaimed with repulsed anger, "Creep got what he deserved."

Buffy just smiled weakly in response. She was still acclimatizing to the brutal methods Faith liked to exhibit in the field. In this case she couldn't really blame the other slayer for the extreme measures she'd taken, but Buffy wasn't currently in such a grisly situation. She was sunbathing in her backyard on a beautiful summer's day making it much harder to root for Faith's personal brand of justice.

Faith's lips twisted as she nodded to herself, "Righhht," she was smiling, apparently amused by something only she knew. When she turned to face Buffy she casually sneered, "Keep forgettin' about your soft spot for the undead."

Buffy's sunny disposition turned instantly icy. She noted Faith's leer betraying her otherwise innocent body language. "Do not. Even. Go there." She warned in a dangerous, low voice.

Faith's shit eating grin was barely held back as the brunette bit down on her bottom lip.

"Faith. I'm serious." The brunette shrugged innocently and looked away still grinning wildly. Buffy could feel something bubbling up inside the other slayer and as Buffy's cheeks turned red in pre-emptive preparation for what she knew was coming, she felt her hands form solid fists just before her sense of peace was destroyed in a very loud, very obnoxious manner.

"The first bite is the deeeeepest, baby I know—!"

Faith's exaggerated singing was interrupted when Buffy promptly clamped her hand around her mouth and the rest of the chorus came out as an incoherent, giggle-ridden mess. A battle fought with pinching fingers and slapping hands ensued and Faith erupted into manic laughter interspersed with the occasional mocking lyric. She half-heartedly protected herself from Buffy's attacks while taking any presented opportunity to prod and poke the angry blonde, incensing her further.

"I think I'm gonna go get a drink before the hair pulling starts." Willow grimaced comically as she got up from her towel and brushed off a few stray blades of grass that clung to her legs or clothing. "You want anything?" The question was open but she looked at Buffy and her red, scowling face.

The blonde huffed indignantly, attempting to compose herself as she used her arms to support herself into a dignified sitting position while pinning a squirming Faith to the ground. She chose to ignore the continued goading jabs her sister slayer sent into her stomach and ribs. Through a half clenched jaw she managed, "Yeah, there's soda in the fridge. Ice in the top of the freeze—quit it!" She snapped irritably as Faith had returned to singing her version of the Cat Stevens classic under her breath. When Faith only added emphasis on certain words Buffy pounced on the other slayer with renewed anger which only encouraged Faith further.

"Think ya funny, huh?" Buffy challenged, laughing despite herself as she attempted to get Faith in a headlock, "Can the funny girl sing without a head?"

Willow simply nodded and peddled backwards, watching the wrestling girls before amusedly shaking her head and turning toward the house.

The pair of duelling slayers found a natural stopping point and Faith's teasing laughter broke down into breathless chuckles as her chest shuddered with each sporadic snicker.

They heard the back door to Buffy's kitchen swing shut behind Willow. Buffy noticed she was still straddling her friend's stomach and as her anger-fuelled adrenaline evaporated with each steady breath she became suddenly flustered by the close proximity. When it reached the point she was acutely aware of Faith's bare midriff pressed between her legs and the fact the brunette had started drawing lazy patterns across Buffy's stomach for her own amusement, alarm bells finally sounded from the foggy haze that was Buffy's brain. She removed her body with as much subtle haste as possible and laid back on to her beach towel—but not without getting one last parting shot into Faith's shoulder.

"Ow." The brunette deadpanned, rubbing her shoulder distractedly.

"Serves you right." Buffy said curtly, a smug, victorious smile curling her lips. A cursory look over at Faith showed she looked decidedly less content than she had a couple of seconds ago. Buffy scrunched her nose up in amused concern and moved her sunglasses up to her forehead to take a better look at Faith. She definitely seemed deflated about something.

"I didn't hit you that hard you big baby." Buffy chided jovially. When Faith simply gave an unconvincing smile in response a rush of concern subdued Buffy's playfulness. "Faith?

"Nothing." Faith said a little too quickly. "I'm swell." Buffy shot the brunette a bemused look as Faith recoiled at her choice of words but quickly recovered. "What's up?" She asked coolly.

Buffy shrugged lightly and decided she should change tact. They laid there for a while, soaking in the ambient sounds filling the calm, summer air until Buffy mustered the courage to bring up a topic that had been eating away at her over the weeks. "We haven't really talked since the Graduation."

One of Faith's eyebrows rose dubiously. "B, we talk nearly every day. It's at the point now where I'm kinda sick of you." She snorted with laughter when Buffy swatted her arm.

"Jerk." Buffy scowled with a glaring pout. She sobered after a moment and pushed on, "I meant it's been a while since we talked about...Finch."

Faith stiffened immediately at the mention of the name but managed a strained smile.

"I guess it has, huh?" She replied distractedly. She was silent for a long moment, but when she did speak her voice lacked its usual character, "I'm coping. Taking it day by day. Some days are worse than others. Dreams don't help much."

"Dreams?" Buffy asked curiously as she laid on her front, head propped up on the end of one hand.

"Of the night it happened." Faith explained quietly, "Replayin' over and over in my head. Bad enough I do it when I'm awake." She chuckled humourlessly, "I pick apart all the details. Wonder what I could have done differently. If he'd be alive right now." Buffy observed Faith's neutral expression, her eyes hidden from sight as not to give away any conflict of emotion taking place inside her. Whether she had grown comfortable opening up to Buffy or was just getting good at disguising her vulnerability as cool detachment. The shaky sigh she omitted confirmed the latter. "I just have to remind myself of who he was working for." Faith continued as her voice grew stronger, "Not like I killed a girl scout. He may have been trading sides but he was evil's lackey for a hell of a time before he decided to jump the fence."

"True. His employer was much with the evil." Buffy nodded grimly, "I'm still washing Dick out of my hair." She half-joked with shuddering disgust. Her expression turned to dumbfounded horror when her words registered, and with that, the dregs of Faith's tension vanished. Her smirk bordered on the ridiculous.

"Sometimes I think you say these things to test me." Faith said suspiciously. From the angle of her tilted head Buffy knew the girl's eyes were narrowed behind her shades. Buffy rolled her eyes but still blushed slightly as Faith continued to scrutinize her. Before Buffy could succumb completely to her embarrassment the other slayer suddenly clicked her fingers. "Shit, I almost forgot."

Buffy watched curiously as Faith sat up and reached into the jacket piled beside her on the grass and jostled through the pockets until she found and retrieved a small black box. Faith juggled with the mystery box for a hesitant moment then with sudden resolve she straightened up and handed it to Buffy. "Here."

"What's this?" Buffy peered down at the unmarked, rectangular box, turning it carefully in her hand, worried its contents might be fragile. With that thought jewellery sprung to mind and she had to control a surge of girlish excitement building in her chest to remember this was a gift from _**Faith.**_ It was smooth to the touch and appeared to have two small hinges along one length and a basic latch lock on the other. Faith gave her an impatient frown.

"It's for you." Faith said while fidgeting. She rolled her eyes and added, "Duh. Open it." She added hastily, clearly on edge now.

Buffy looked suspiciously at Faith for a beat, hesitating, then with a squeal of excitement she lifted the latch with the flick of a finger and practically yanked the lid open. Upon the red velvet lining inside rested a thin, metallic object that glinted as the sun caught its edge.

Buffy did a double take as she stared at the object she'd revealed.

"You picked it out at that Meyer sports place. The night we got arrested." Faith couldn't help the nostalgic smirk that showed off her teeth.

"I remember." Buffy said with slight stiffness. She wasn't as fond of the memory as Faith seemed to be seeing as 'picked it out' was the cliff notes version of 'breaking and entering with intent to steal'. She picked the knife up slowly and examined it from all angles, her expression unreadable. As the knife elicited a torrent of exciting and frightening memories that rushed through her mind's eye, Buffy paused in her examination, a worrying thought occurring to her, "You didn't...steal this did you?"

"What? No!" Faith cried defensively. She looked annoyed but Buffy couldn't really be blamed to jump to conclusions considering her past—and her present. Buffy was still unconvinced that Faith had gotten a 'great deal' on the muscle car currently parked out front, and if money hadn't been exchanged she didn't want to know what had been done to warrant it into her possession. "I just got my first pay check from the restaurant yesterday and I've been wantin' to get you something for a while but I didn't really have the extra income. Now...I do." Faith finished in a coyly upbeat fashion. Buffy turned the silver blade delicately between her fingers, silently admiring the craft that had gone into its creation.

"Is that why you're wearing $80 Ray Bans?" Buffy asked abruptly and accusingly as she eyeballed the designer sunglasses perched on the bridge of Faith's nose.

"I'm an impulse buyer." Faith shrugged nonchalantly before slipping on her trademark smirk, "So sue me."

"Wait, you just said you'd wanted to get me something for a while—as in longer than one day." The cogs were slowly turning in Buffy's head and she fixed Faith with a furrowed gaze. "This isn't a victim of impulsive buying, is it?" Buffy indicated the knife, her forehead uncreasing as a wave of clarity took hold.

"Yeah. No. I dunno." Faith grunted with a quick shrug. "I just thought you'd like it."

"But it's in a gift box. Meyer Sports do gift boxes for hunting weapons?" Buffy inquired dubiously.

Faith was starting to fluster now, "So I dressed it up! What's the big deal? Jeez, I just wanted to—" She cut herself off, removing her sunglasses as rubbed at the pained expression on her face. When her eyes reopened she avoided looking at Buffy to such a degree that the blonde couldn't help but laugh.

"Faith." Buffy commanded gently, yet firmly. She had learnt she really could get anyone to talk with the right tone of voice and liberal use of the puppy dog stare. In particular, the no bullshit approach worked wonders on the other slayer. The brunette's eyes rolled slowly in their sockets and she sighed heavily at the brilliantly blue sky.

"I just wanted to say thank you." The agitated slayer managed huskily, as if the words were an unbearable effort. "For everythin' you did for me. After that night in the alley..." She chewed her lip, clearly struggling with such naked honesty, "...I owe you...everything. And I'm never gonna forget that."

Faith dared a glance at Buffy and the older slayer saw just how vulnerable she was at that moment. She swallowed against the lump in her throat as the significance of Faith's gift truly sunk in.

"Well, thank you." Buffy said sincerely after composing herself. Her wide, unabashed smile was apparently enough to convince Faith she'd done well as the tension in the other girl evaporated and she gave a mock casual shrug; as if the gesture didn't mean half of what she knew it meant. "It's not every day a girl gets given a dangerous weapon. Though I suspect I've been given my fair share more than most." Buffy chuckled as a pensive look crossed her face.

"Well, play your cards right and who knows what else you'll have comin' your way." Faith wriggled her eyebrows suggestively as she laid back down, resting her head on the palms of her hands. Buffy marvelled at how quickly the other slayer could return to her usual self-assured nature and gave a short, laugh of incredulity.

"Is that so?" Buffy said shaking her head with an amused smile before it turned deviously cheeky and she added, "Careful. I'm armed. I could demand all kinds of things."

Faith regarded Buffy for a moment before leaning upward as she purred in thought, "That's true." Buffy seeking an opportunity to get the upper hand placed the blade of the knife dangerously against Faith's throat, stopping her steady approach. She glanced downwards and chuckled. When she looked back up Faith's dark eyes showed no trace of fear and Buffy felt strangely exhilarated by the other girl's challenging stare. Faith pointed a solitary finger into the centre of Buffy's chest, just above her bikini-aided bust and in a smooth, sultry tone said, "But you're forgetting something important, B."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Buffy asked with breezy indifference, enjoying the brief sense of control she had over the other slayer while her air of superiority only drew a bigger, more mischievous grin out of Faith.

The brunette added a second finger to Buffy's chest and walked them slowly up toward her collarbone, before leaning smoothly toward her, her nose tickling Buffy's cheek before she reached her destination; her lips brushing Buffy's earlobe as a whisper soft as silk said, "Some things are free for the taking..."

Buffy was so caught off guard that she couldn't stop her teeth from instinctively sinking into her bottom lip.

A loud gasp pulled both their gazes sharply toward the house to see Willow with three glasses on a tray and a look of frozen shock on her face. Buffy swallowed hard, the glaze lifting from her eyes just in time to catch the way Faith jolted away from her personal space. She briefly watched the younger slayer fidget uncomfortably back onto her beach towel, before refocusing on the bug-eyed Witch with impeccable timing.

Before Buffy could explain the odd scene her friend had just witnessed, Willow beat her to the draw, "Why do you have a knife? Are you fighting? I was gone five minutes!"

The slack-jawed slayers looked from Willow to the knife clutched in Buffy's hand and back to Willow again before gawking wide-eyed at each other. Willow glanced bewilderedly around the backyard for a punch line when Buffy and Faith burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter.

* * *

Buffy blinked away the memory as the headlights of a passing car glared through the bedroom window and stirred her from the reminiscent scene playing in her head. She stared dumbly at the knife resting in her hands for a moment longer, running her thumb along the length of the blade. With a tired sigh, she turned to put the weapon back in the wooden chest by the end of her bed and almost banged her head against a large packing crate in her path. She scowled at the crate and proceeded to step around it and several others that were stacked high around the confines of her bedroom; her mother had some serious explaining to do. After wriggling her way between two heavy crates to get the knife back in its box within the weapon's chest, Buffy worked her way to her dresser and fished out a pair of pyjama shorts and a tank top. She got changed in the hallway, unable to deal with the lack of space in her own room. She grimaced at her dirty clothing, noticing spots of vivid white blood that had stained her top and ruined the material.

She sighed angrily.

Buffy crossed the landing and shot a cautionary glance at the locked bathroom door. She went to knock then hesitated, biting her lip.

"Uh...Faith?" she asked, careful to keep her voice neutral, "Do you need anything?"

When Buffy didn't get an answer after a moment she dithered on whether to ask again or just leave the girl in peace when a husky voice, just audible over the sound of the running faucet, replied, "No."

With renewed optimism that Faith could at least bare a minimum of communication with her, she added, "Well if you do I'll be downstairs. Okay?" She could hear movement from inside but got no reply. After a minute Buffy relented and went downstairs.

In normal circumstances Buffy would have shrugged off Faith's pride and helped her anyway. But circumstances were far from normal and in all honesty Buffy was relieved to have an excuse to be out of the other slayer's company. Standing alone in the foyer now, she let out a shaky breath, the one she felt she'd been holding since Faith's revelation outside the Bronze.

She walked automatically into the kitchen, unsure how to occupy herself. She leant restlessly against the island then wandered over to the fridge and stared blankly at its contents. She closed it and moved to the sink, filling a glass from the faucet. She sipped unenthusiastically from her bland beverage until the kitchen's eerie silence became too unsettling. Lately, being alone set Buffy on edge. Even the kitchen's bright, artificial lighting provided little comfort, somehow making the quiet house seem all the more sinister.

Abandoning the drink on the countertop, the tired slayer stepped into the living room, walked in a daze to the couch and fell face down into the cushions. A low, muffled groan escaped into the floral-patterned seat. Gradually Buffy lifted her head.

It ached fiercely, swollen from the tempest of new information swirling inside. Her fists and feet felt like she'd tried to fight a tank. And worst of all, her chest and stomach lurched in nauseating synchronicity as she remembered the words that Faith had uttered with such heart wrenching honesty in the dark recesses of that alley. Why did everything big between them occur in dark, dingy alleyways, anyway? She thought irritably.

Buffy's face fell into her hands, her cold palms rubbing against her face. She tucked them in a fist under her chin as she sat in silent thought. She was still reeling from one part of Faith's outburst in particular:

'_I'm __**obsessed**__ with you.'_

A girl was in love with her. And not just any girl—Faith. Faith, the only other slayer in existence, yearned after Buffy in a way that both scared the slayer and caused her to feel like she had a permanent blush. She had always felt liked by the younger slayer, respected, admired and even envied by the complicated girl. Buffy herself had grown to love Faith like any of her other friends but at no point had she pictured her descendant as more than that. Of course their friendship was deeper due to their shared lineage, Faith understood Buffy in a way no one else did. Kendra had been the same but lived such an organised life outside her own that Buffy had never really had the chance to know her better. Then again, Faith was a whole different kind of animal.

What saddened Buffy the most was the feeling that their friendship had come to an end. Sure it wasn't official or even final yet but like some horrible thing waiting just on the horizon she could feel it steadily approaching. She couldn't see any conceivable way they would be able to go back to the way things had been all summer.

She thought back to the knife and what it represented.

Buffy had always found the gesture sweet and innocent; just a sign of Faith's growing maturity and evidence of their then newly forming friendship. Now, however, Buffy inwardly groaned at her naivety. Nothing about Faith's demeanour that day had come across as casual or just friendly. Now she was revisiting every moment they'd spent together and viewing all of it through new eyes.

Buffy had been around Faith all summer. She had lived with her, sparred with her, patrolled and played cards in cemeteries with her and barely a day had passed in those months where she didn't have some interaction with the other slayer. It was fair to say this couldn't be helped because Faith had moved in and that at least half of those days with Faith had involved Willow too. But Buffy knew deep down how close she had got to Faith in such a relatively short space of time. She practically had every quirk, trend and pet peeve of the brunette etched into her brain.

What fresh hell must had it been for Faith, feeling the way she did, with the object of her affections always constantly within distance of all her five senses. Well maybe not taste...but...

Buffy shook off the image she'd involuntarily just conjured up and sighed exasperatedly into the empty living room. Her head truly was a mess; filled to the brim with guilt and fear, while at random, unwanted intervals a small, cruel part of her mind flashed the possibilities of what a relationship with Faith might be like. This was due mostly to the associated mental imagery that caused Buffy to blush and roll her eyes to the ceiling, wishing she had never opened Pandora's Box that evening.

I could have let it go, she thought bitterly, I could have put Faith's moodiness down to Faith being moody but ooooh no—I just had to find out!

Falling into a sulk comprised of anger, fatigue and a combination of being drained both mentally and emotionally, Buffy slouched over to the opposite couch, plummeting backward into the seat sullenly. She switched the television on with the remote, watched the image flicker onto the black box and stared passively at the sitcom rerun playing on screen. She'd seen the episode more times than she had fingers but the familiar faces and their jokes helped drown out the turmoil taking place in Buffy's aching head. She turned the volume up and laid loosely on the couch, her head propped against the armrest. Buffy hugged a cushion to her chest, fidgeted into the most pleasing position and listened drowsily to the comical dialogue and canned laughter as she let herself become comfortably numb.

* * *

When she could manage to tear her eyes away from the torrent of gurgling water Faith finally stripped away her chest-hugging top, letting it drop haphazardly on the floor. She unbuttoned the fly of her dark jeans and then shuffled them down to her knees before sitting on the edge of the bath and winced as she gingerly pushed the material down her aching leg. She grunted as she lifted the leg enough to slide the tight clothing over her ankles and finally off her feet.

She flexed her toes experimentally and had to suck her lips between her teeth to stifle the loud gasp of pain she unleashed. Cursing angrily she threw her creased jeans into the corner of the room. She leant over and shut the tap off, testing the temperature of the bath momentarily.

The slayer stood uneasily on her good leg and warily examined her reflection in the medicine cabinet mirror. She scowled at the dark bruise forming over one side of her ribs. It took all her self control not to lash out and break the mirror. She'd had enough bad luck for one night.

After removing the expensive underwear that now seemed like a wasted effort considering the course the night had taken, Faith carefully eased her legs over the rim of the bathtub, supporting the majority of her weight with her upper body strength and exhaled in pleasure as she slid into the hot, foamy water. She sunk deeply into the bath, leaving only her head and injured leg above the frothy surface. Faith stared sourly at the large purplish bruise running up her calf and shin before letting the leg slip carefully beneath the bubbles, hiding the damage from view.

To say the car ride to the house had been tense and awkward would have been the understatement of the century. If Xander hadn't insisted on driving them home Faith would have hopped the whole journey without a second of hesitation.

The only distraction during the journey from hell had been when Xander naively turned her car stereo on and '_You Can't Hurry Love' _blasted through the speakers and caused the three of them to jump in surprise. It had almost lifted the tension completely until Xander's confused questions ended and the lyrics began to sink in. Somewhere between _'My Mama said'_ and _'how many heartaches must I stand'_ Faith's demeanour had switched from vaguely amused to sullen and unresponsive. She spent the remainder of the journey staring silently out of the side window in the backseat, Phil Collins taunting her all the way.

Faith attempted to shut out the scene and the many tiny awkward moments after it when Buffy had helped her into the house. She had practically leapt up the stairs, mumbled something about 'hitting the tub' and locked herself in the bathroom. 'Cus you're totally not a coward...' Faith heard a snide voice from inside her head. Her face creased into a frown as she ignored the voice and all the others that were currently trying their hardest to make her pack a bag and run in one direction till her feet bled.

Faith let her head sink beneath the surface and as the water pressed against her ears, silence consumed her, distorting the world of the sounds above. The fluorescent glare of the bathroom light glowed through her eyelids as her breath came slow and steady. Faith was beginning to relax.

Then the lights went out.

The submerged slayer blinked and peered up into the darkness, thinking it a trick of the mind. After a few moments passed and the bathroom remained hidden in shadow she broke the surface and sighed in defeat.

"Perfect."

She tapped her nails agitatedly on the plastic rim and tried to ignore the fact she could barely see the tap at the other end of the bath, but as the blanket of darkness pressed down on her she fidgeted anxiously, the water sloshing gently in its artificial prison. She exhaled loudly to steady her nerves and shut her eyes, determined to keep her cool in what was essentially a fancy suburban bathroom and far-flung from some creepy, vampire-infested cemetery.

However, with her eyes closed Faith found her thoughts to be her only company. Flashing images of the night came to her, like horrific photographs from a haunted house. Her heart started to thud an uneasy, quickened beat and with only the odd drip of the faucet to fill the silent bathroom her growing fear was becoming louder by the second.

Eventually she growled out in annoyance, the sound echoing slightly off the bathroom walls which hastened her otherwise begrudged movement into a sitting position. She then leant over the lip of the tub to search for the door handle. When her fingers brushed against the polished steel she traced them along the handle and down to the lock. The click of the mechanism sliding away sounded loud and frightening in the dark, causing her to open the door more hastily than she originally meant to.

The hallway was just as dark—as Faith hadn't bothered to illuminate it on her way up and now desperately wished she had. The darkness at the end of the hallway was completely impenetrable to her enhanced eyesight and staring down it racked her apprehension up another notch.

"Buffy—" Faith cleared her throat of the hovering fear that had tainted her voice and she tried again, as firmly and nonchalantly as her wits could muster, "Buffy?"

She was greeted only by the slight echo of her voice in the bathroom and nothing else.

"B, can you come up here a sec?" Faith still got no response and she pricked her ears for the smallest sound. She thought she heard the distant drone of tinny voices and background music and realised the other slayer must have been watching television. She fidgeted awkwardly as she waited in tense contemplation of what to do next, and just as she began musing on cutting her relaxation session short and ditching the bath altogether, the softest of sounds caught her ear.

Someone was coming up the stairs, albeit quietly.

"Buffy?" Faith called softly, uncertainly.

The footfalls grew closer but no one replied and Faith felt the fear inside her skyrocket. Recent events, tonight and prior, had led her to expect nothing innocent in someone or something that chose to remain silent, yet part of her was glad nothing had answered. She began searching the room blindly for a weapon, hating how vulnerable she felt in her current state, but had to remind herself that she had once fought vampires on a bus full of nuns completely nude, so fending off a shadow monster, naked in a bath would just have to be a new story for her to tell. She would live to tell this story and laugh about it one day.

"Did you call me?" The sudden voice made Faith jump and the water reacted in a way that made it impossible to hide her unusually jittery nerves. She clenched her jaw, completely and utterly frustrated with this day and it's never ending supply of treats and wished it a swift death to the hands of tomorrow.

"B?"

"What's wrong?" The familiar voice, filled with genuine concern caused a wave of relief to pass through Faith.

"The, uh, light went out." She explained bitterly, feeling like the world's wimpiest slayer.

"Oh." There was a pause and then she heard, "Hang on."

The blonde girl appeared a few minutes later with a pair of thick, short candles. "I don't know where Mom keeps the spare bulbs. You'll have to do with these for now." She hovered in the doorway as she took several attempts to light the wicks with a box of matches. Once she succeeded she entered cautiously, placing one candle on the sink and another at the end of the bath where the rim was wider. It wasn't exactly the Las Vegas Strip but when Buffy turned the landing light on the combination did enough of a good job to brighten what had only moments ago been a dark and oppressive environment.

"Thanks." Faith mumbled, now highly conscious of how only a few lingering shadows and a layer of bubbles protected her modesty.

"No problem." Buffy slapped her hands against her thighs and flashed a friendly, but nervous smile, "Well I guess I'll leave you to it..."

"Wait!" The apprehensive urgency in Faith's voice made Buffy stop. The brunette fidgeted sullenly for a moment before asking, "Do you mind...stayin' with me?"

"Uh..." The older slayer hovered in the open doorway, her hand clutching the frame as if preparing to pull herself out of the room. Faith had already expected the worse when, to her surprise, Buffy quietly said, "Sure."

Buffy scanned the small, dark room unsure of where to place herself. She finally settled for where the view of Faith's naked form was most obscured thanks to the low vantage point and Buffy's fortunate lack of height.

Several minutes of unbearably awkward silence passed at the pace of a snail's crawl. Buffy cleared her throat a few times as if she were going to speak but never did. Faith would send fleeting glances her way but look quickly away as soon as they were returned.

"Well this is romantic." Buffy quipped in an attempt to break the now suffocating smog of tension steadily filling the room. "Now all we need is a plate of spaghetti and some Italian guy playing the accordion."

"I'm guessing you're the lady in that scenario?"

"Naturally." Buffy replied not missing a beat.

Faith snorted in a curious manner that made Buffy's eyes narrow. "Hardly a competition, is it?"

"You really need to stop doing that." Buffy sighed and Faith glanced over at hearing the serious edge to her voice. She raised her eyebrows in question then realised Buffy probably couldn't see them in the darkness.

"What?"

"The constant self deprecation?" Buffy explained with growing exasperation. "You voiced some pretty big insecurities tonight."

"Do we need to get into that right now?" Faith shifted restlessly and the sound of rippling water echoed in the semi-darkness.

"Well we could sit here, in my dark bathroom, ignoring the elephant in the room—not to mention the only slightly smaller elephant that is you lying naked a foot away from me—or we could address what went down tonight like the grownup individuals I think we are." Buffy announced with wavering conviction. She glanced surreptitiously at Faith, trying to gauge if her theory was correct.

Faith glared sulkily into some dark corner of the room, her arms firmly folded across her chest. Finally, with a hopeless shrug, she said, "It is what it is, B."

"But I got the impression that you don't think you're worthy of..." Buffy faltered and Faith knew she had been about to say 'worthy of me.' Instead, she fidgeted and went with, "...something good."

"If you knew my history you'd understand how crazy just the idea of it sounds to me."

"I know the history. I aced the paper on Faith Lehane 101." Buffy said boldly. "I don't think it's crazy."

"B...you don't have to do this..." Faith groaned desperately, bringing a hand up to her forehead.

"No, I mean it." Buffy said with greater conviction. She turned slightly bashful when she added, "I just thought you were a, uh, one team kinda girl."

"I am...I mean...I don't...This," She paused to indicate the space between her and Buffy, "is just a onetime kind of thing." Faith squirmed inside the bath, hugging her chest tightly as she blushed furiously in reaction to being so honest. "I've never really felt like this for a guy. Never really wanted to screw a girl. Now I'm strikin' two for two."

"Oh." Buffy seemed completely taken aback.

"Kinda mentioned this earlier." Faith said coldly, anger simmering to the surface.

"Y-yeah I know. It's just a lot happened." Buffy replied quietly, slightly stung by Faith's tone. "I'm still processing."

Buffy looked so overwhelmed in the flicker of the candlelight that Faith's sourness softened slightly and she pushed her anger out in a single breath. "Fair point. Didn't mean to turn bitch on ya."

"It's okay." Buffy smiled. Then after a moment of tense deliberation she decided to take the conversation down an easier route, "So how's the leg?"

"You tell me?" She raised the limb in question above the bubbly surface and Buffy grimaced at the ugly bruise marring her otherwise smooth, pale skin. Buffy reached out a tentative hand and traced the shape of the unsightly injury with her fingers until Faith hissed in discomfort.

"Sorry." She said gently. Instead of withdrawing her hand though, like Faith had expected, Buffy moved it higher till it rested on Faith's knee. "Does it hurt here?" She asked with a nervous edge to her curiosity.

Faith swallowed dryly, "Not as much."

She heard Buffy audibly gulp before letting those same five fingers travel up the remainder of Faith's leg and back down to the knee, caressing her thigh at a slow, rhythmic pace. "And h-here?" She inquired with even greater trepidation evident in her trembling voice and the slight shaking of her hand. Faith couldn't even form an answer. She just stared through her lashes, the hot water contrasting electrically with the cold sweat that Buffy had caused to break out across Faith's exposed body. They were both painfully aware of how close Buffy's hand was to the top of Faith's thigh.

"B...whatcha doin'?" Faith voice cracked as she felt a surge of anxious excitement, her stomach performing the mother of all somersaults.

"Not sure." Buffy replied dreamily, seemingly mesmerised by the feel of the goose bumps that had just raced across Faith's smooth skin. Then in a breathless rush, curtly added, "Shut up a second." Faith's open mouth slammed shut and stayed that way to prevent the series of incoherent noises that wanted to escape when Buffy's fingers explored tentatively up the length of Faith's hip bone, before the flat of her palm stroked a more confident path across the brunette slayer's toned stomach. Buffy continued ever higher, the sides of her hand torturously grazing the curve of Faith's firm breasts as her fingers trailed slowly between them and paused on her chest, the palm pressed flat against Faith's breast bone. Buffy let out a small, nervous laugh and bit her lip. She looked like she couldn't believe what she'd just done.

"Your heart's racing..." Buffy stated in breathless wonder.

Faith felt strangely confident after Buffy's expedition of her body and the way the blonde was currently ogling her. A cocky grin adorned her face and she mustered the courage to say, "You have that effect on me."

At those words Buffy seemed to melt.

There was a second of hesitation and then in one swift arc her parted lips pressed hungrily against Faith's jaw, missing her mouth in nervous haste, eventually finding it a second later as she kissed the other slayer with wild abandon. Faith's lips moved automatically, her mind unable to process what was happening and then, just as the shock began to wear off and Faith was able to deliver some semblance of emotion back into the kiss, a tongue desperately pushed her lips apart and she was overwhelmed a second time. It was Buffy who finally pulled back for air; a shaky, gasping moan escaping her lips. Faith was too busy reeling; her body on the verge of meltdown, as she blinked dumbly at Buffy's parted pout that gasped for air. Her bangs were hanging in a dishevelled mess around the sides of her face, framing the hungry look in her eyes. She looked so scared and yet so alive that it was enough to drive Faith forward to capture those soft, swollen lips in another searing kiss that Buffy accepted greedily.

Buffy's free hand found its way into Faith's wet, wild tresses and then down to her neck, her delicate fingers almost clawing hungrily at the side of Faith's face as she sucked fervently on the other slayer's bottom lip. When she bit down, hard enough to pierce the sensitive skin, Faith only moaned encouragement, loving how the intensity of the blonde's actions mirrored many of her fantasies. She'd known Buffy was capable of this. She'd known the slayer was a violent, primal animal that liked taking what it wanted, but to actually experience it was a whole other level of nirvana that Faith was struggling to keep up with. Now she knew how all her 'quick fixes' felt.

She could feel the fingers of Buffy's right hand flex and stroke against her chest, fingernails trailing with just enough pressure across her skin. But when Faith attempted to sit up so she had better access to Buffy's neck she found herself unable to move. She reluctantly pulled away from the kiss; the lusty-eyed glare being shot her way told her Buffy wasn't happy about it either.

"You wanna let me up here?" Faith purred, her voice husky and low, as she ran her thumb along Buffy's jutting bottom lip, "There's half a dozen places I've been dyin' to kiss you and it ain't gonna happen unless you hold back on the death grip."

Buffy shot her a mischievous smile before attempting to continue the heated kiss she'd just interrupted. Faith pushed Buffy back and held her at a distance, "B, I'm serious. Stop screwin' around."

Buffy continued to smile, clearly undeterred, and quickly leant forward to press her lips along Faith's jaw and up the side of her face. Her tongue darted expertly along Faith's earlobe and the brunette shivered despite her growing impatience. "Faith..." Buffy's moan was thick and desperate against the side of her face.

"Yeah..." Faith murmured back incoherently as Buffy's hot breath tickled her neck.

She felt the other slayer smile; her teeth pressed against her ear. The word she whispered into Faith's ear came from a voice that resembled the hiss of an angry snake, "...Psssssssssyche..."

Without warning the bathroom door slammed shut, killing the candlelight as Faith heard the lock click back into place by itself. Faith whipped her head around in the pitch black and almost screamed as she saw the luminescent white eyes and gruesome piranha smile that stretched across Buffy's face, shimmering vividly in the dark. The hideous visage flashed before her for an instant and then Faith was being forced aggressively beneath the water's surface.

Bathwater, bubbles and all, streamed down her throat as she cried out in shock, her arms thrashing wildly trying to grab hold of the arm pushing down on her head. She tried to buck her hips and kick out at her assailant but the hand on her chest slithered down to her stomach, pushing down and pinning her to the bottom of the bathtub with incredible force.

She lashed out with her fist, connecting with what used to be Buffy's face. She felt the weight on her fall away and managed to break the surface; the contents of the bath splashing upward over the sides as she coughed water from her lungs and attempted to suck in one huge breathe before screaming, "BUFFY—!"

The name barely left her lips before she was struck sharply against the temple and was sent back beneath the water in a painful daze. As consciousness started to slip from her grasp—swallowed by hazy darkness—a loud, urgent thud boomed over the deafening sound of water rushing against her eardrums.

* * *

There was an almighty crunch as the bathroom door splintered near the handle. Then with the sound of ricocheting metal the lock broke and the door swung inwards, banging loudly against the tiled wall and scattering the shadows to the darkest corners. Buffy charged into the room, her face a mask of merciless anger. She'd heard Faith's cry and been jolted from a restless sleep; the nagging worry in the back of her mind that she'd ignored exploding into a blaring siren of panic.

Something was in the house.

She'd been ready to break bones but now, facing the unwelcomed guest, she gasped in horror and took a step back from her monstrous twin. Its face contorted back to one that perfectly mimicked hers and a sickly sweet smile curved across her pouting lips. It blew her a kiss and before Buffy could reply with a kick to the face the doppelganger melted into its own shadow. The pool of black elongated across the bathroom tiles before a hissing shriek was uttered and the shadow shot by her, running along the walls of the landing and down the stairs with terrifying speed.

Buffy stared after it, watching the front door visibly shudder as it slipped beneath it. The slayer stood in stunned silence until she shook away the fear and bolted back into the bathroom, greeted by the motionless body inside the bath. "Faith!"

She was panicking now and the blonde slayer dropped to her knees to lift Faith's limp body from the bath so her head was no longer submerged. She shook the unresponsive girl frantically by the shoulders.

"Oh god, Faith, don't do this!" Buffy cried desperately, beginning to fear the worse. She started wracking her brain for the correct procedure for ressucitation, a sob escaping her as she placed two hands tentatively on the centre of her chest. But before she could administer the first compression Faith jolted upwards with a spluttering gasp. Water poured from her mouth as she coughed and inhaled a lungful of air.

Her eyes shot open and jumped wildly around the room. She spotted Buffy and in a fit of sheer panic punched her square in the jaw.

"No it's me!" Buffy reassured, recovering almost instantly from the blow. She tried to settle Faith down by placing a calming hand on her shoulder but the other girl flinched and Buffy drew her hand away quickly. She raised both hands in defence before repeating firmly, "It's _**me**_."

Faith slowly regained her composure but she kept fixating on Buffy's eyes as if fearfully searching for something she didn't want to find. After finally accepting that she was faced with the real Buffy, Faith demonstrated a rare moment of humility and covered her naked form as best she could.

"Did I just drown?" Faith asked hoarsely. When Buffy nodded numbly, still recuperating from her minor panic attack, the brunette let her head thud against the rim of the bath and exhaled shakily, "Not a fan."

Between laboured breathes a small smile graced Buffy's lips. "Welcome to the club."

* * *

Riley Finn walked across the concrete floor of the Initiative base deep in thought. He stopped at the railing that overlooked the open surgical area below and his fingers tightened around the cold steel. Two surgeons worked carefully on a thorny-faced demon with reddish skin. Half its organs lay in metallic vessels on a tray beside the operating table. Riley felt inexplicably ill at the scene and it caused him to draw his pensive gaze from the mechanical ministrations of the doctors below. Looking around the base Riley noticed how quiet it was despite the late hour, with only a few personnel scattered around the huge underground facility. It caused the clink of the surgeons' instruments to echo without interruption into the empty bunker. A brisk slap on his back pulled Riley's attention sharply around and he found Forrest smirking at him.

"Aw, what's the matter, Finn?" His friend said with feigned concern as he took in Riley's brooding expression, "Date not go well?"

"It was fine." Riley said flatly standing a little taller as he pretended to be fascinated by a forklift that drove passed, burdened by a heavy crate with an emblem printed on its side that warned of its contents high flammability.

"Hmm, _fine_." Forrest said with suspicion as his arms folded across his chest. "Fine's never good. What happened? Blondie not put out?"

"I'm not dignifying that with an answer." Riley stated firmly with a shake of his head as he pushed away from the railing and headed toward the lockers.

"So that's a big no." Forrest grinned as he walked beside his taller friend.

Riley rolled his eyes but a coy flicker of a smile betrayed his neutral expression, before he changed the topic to something he found more pressing and asked, "Where's Professor Walsh?"

Grudgingly accepting that he'd get nothing further out of him Forrest shrugged and turned serious, "No idea, but you don't wanna find her." He stated with a look of warning.

"What?"Riley looked at his friend strangely. "Why?"

"She's in a foul mood, man. And I say that knowing what she's like on a normal day." Forrest clarified with an expression of disbelief. "Some of the guys say she's been muttering to herself too."

Riley looked unconvinced. "I'm well aware of what certain unnamed individuals say behind the Professor's back," He stole an accusing glance at Forrest before continuing, "She's probably just stressed." Considering recent events he wouldn't have blamed her for being a little overworked.

"No man, everyone's noticed." Forrest pressed as his voice lowered to just above a whisper, "Even Dr Angleman. He's just too chicken to ask her about it." Checking that no one was close enough to overhear the conversation he added, "If you ask me the monster she's got in that Frankenstein shark cage is starting to get to her." Riley stopped rummaging through his locker but continued to stare passively at its contents as growing apprehension pooled in his stomach. "I've caught her staring at it—like she's transfixed."

A disjointed, jittery image of events in the alley earlier that night flashed in Riley's head. He'd thought the sinister thing he'd witnessed outside the bronze to be a separate entity, but after Forrest's comment he was now making connections between the nebulous, shadowy mass in the Initiatives custody and the very solid, very dangerous creature that had attacked in the alley. For one, both had a penchant for the colour black and ungodly, terrifying smiles.

"I think I met its big brother tonight." Riley quietly announced, removing his uniform from his locker before closing it. He decided to leave out the part where two civilian women inexplicably fought the creature off; he was still working that one out himself since Buffy had hastily brushed his questions aside and quickly left to take care of her friend. The thought occurred to him that maybe Buffy and the brunette practiced more than just mixed martial arts.

"There's another one of those things out there?" Forrest asked incredulously, drawing Riley from his thoughts. An armed soldier walked passed them to his locker and the pair did their best to act out a casual conversation until the soldier left.

"Not exactly." Riley continued as he kept a wary eye on the retreating serviceman. He was beginning to wonder himself just how many versions this hostile came in and what its numbers were. "But I think whatever's happening in this town is getting worse."

"We should gear up." Forest said solemnly as his military mind kicked in to gear. "We track it down and bring it in."

"No."

"Why not?" The solider scowled at Riley.

"Trust me. I got a good look at this thing and what it's capable of. It'd be a suicide mission." He stated grimly, "All we know about these things is what they tell us. Have you noticed how little Intel we get? I mean Walsh has kept details to a minimum before but this time..." Riley shook his head slightly, his eyes scanning warily around for anyone trying to eavesdrop. "They're not telling us something important."

Forrest considered Riley's words with a grave expression. "We should corner Rubinstein. He's the expert, right?"

At that moment hurried movement caught their eye and both soldiers watched as a group of orderlies quickly transported someone on a wheeled stretcher to the infirmary. Thinking the worst, Riley jogged over expecting to see Walsh rambling unintelligibly to herself, but on closer inspection he discovered the occupant to be a man he only vaguely recognised.

It was Dr Rubinstein.

He had always come across a little peculiar and had a haunted air about him, but most importantly his persona had been that of the shy, retiring type. The delirious, gibbering maniac laid before Riley now was starkly terrifying in comparison.

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's become overly aggressive and uncooperative." One of the orderlies explained through laboured breaths as he tried to help the others restrain the patient, "The sedatives aren't working—

Rubinstein suddenly tore one hand free from his restraints and seized Riley around the collar.

"Lauft! Lauft um euer Leben!" He bellowed in his face, his eyes wide and filled with deranged panic. The orderlies struggled to force the shouting German back onto the gurney as Riley stood in stunned silence. Rubenstein rolled and twisted continuously as they finally tightened the restraints.

"Please, we need to move now! Out of the way!" One of the female orderlies barked and Riley jumped back like he had been stung, jolting out of his daze. He watched with alarm as the man continued to writher and rant in the restraints of the stretcher as it was wheeled away.

"What the hell was that about?" Forrest voiced Riley's thoughts aloud, looking disturbed by the Doctor's apparent mental breakdown.

"I have no idea." Riley said in a state of shock. "But I don't think I'll be getting a chance to ask him about what I saw tonight anytime soon."

"This can't be good." Forrest shook his head in agitation. "Tellin' you, Finn, that monster needs to be put down or relocated before anyone else starts losing their goddamn mind."

Riley couldn't disagree with that statement but the fact stood that he nor, as far as he knew, anyone else in the Initiative had the knowledge or means to overcome the malevolent force emerging from the shadows of Sunnydale.

But then there was Buffy.

* * *

TBC


	8. Chasing Shadows

**Authors Notes: So...seven months goes by quick. I hope those who started reading this are still invested in this story as I do intend to finish it eventually. Enjoy and please review if you have the time, your feedback makes it all worth it.**

* * *

**Chasing Shadows**

Buffy opened her eyes languidly and blinked just as slowly at the contents of an unfamiliar room. From her position lying on her side, in a bed she didn't recognize Buffy blinked again and took a moment to rub sleep from the corners of her eyes so that the immediate environment wasn't just a haze of blurry objects, before scanning the room properly. She groggily noted that the walls were a familiar dark red and then coherence came to her like a lightning bolt to the head.

This was Faith's room. The rest of the pieces poured into her head as she sat up against the headboard. As they began to slot together to form the picture of last night she exhaled through her nose, frowning at the spot at the end of the bed where Faith had been sitting before the blonde had finally succumbed to sleep. The other slayer had been a coiled ball of unspent emotions from the moment she'd left the bathroom, the most outwardly noticeable being anger. Buffy had seen Faith lose her temper once or twice in the past; when a vamp or demon got in a lucky hit and wounded her pride or when she'd spotted damage to a favorite piece of clothing, heck, Buffy had seen Faith lose her cool over missing one of her favorite TV shows. But those outbursts had seemed trivial compared to the unsettling sight of Faith seething silently with rage, staring daggers into the dark.

It had been Buffy's idea to sleep in the same room; safety in numbers from further attacks being her main concern; they had experienced enough in one night to earn the right to be a little paranoid. If Faith objected to the idea she hadn't said so, in fact, the brunette had uttered very few words after the incident in the bath. Buffy wouldn't have called the arrangement a comfortable one; on the contrary, she wasn't sure she felt that safe in the vicinity of the clearly very peeved slayer. Faith had been guarded to the point she barely made the effort to respond whenever Buffy attempted to start light conversation. Even the most offhand and neutral topics had received shrugs or grunts and if she was lucky, a monosyllabic response. Faith outright ignored her when the topic veered toward anything that had occurred in the past couple of hours.

Buffy frowned as she recalled being told nothing of what had occurred between Faith and her disturbing doppelganger. Whether it was one and the same as the thing in the alley outside the Bronze or an entirely different entity Buffy's guess was as good as Faith's, and seeing as she didn't have a clue what Faith thought or knew she'd been left totally in the dark. Buffy had striven for sleep, anxious and deflated by Faith's absolute refusal to confide in her, while said slayer sat at the end of the bed, her back to the wall as she stared straight ahead. She had claimed to be keeping watch but Buffy thought it had considerably more to do with not wanting to be stretched out beside Buffy in the fairly small single bed.

A familiar scent Buffy recognized as Faith's favorite and often overused perfume filtered through her senses. She caught herself a few seconds too late being drawn back into slumber by the comforting smell and soft, warm sheets. Forcing herself up and out of bed Buffy stared down at the patterned bed sheets like they might pounce and eat her at a moment's notice. She turned to face the closed bedroom door and took a moment to prepare herself before going in search of the absent slayer.

She eyed the bathroom warily as she passed it, frowning at the broken door currently propped against the wall opposite the tub; that was going to be the source of a fun conversation with her mother that she was totally looking forward to. Despite her nagging doubts, the blonde poked her head into her own bedroom and found it still occupied by the same family of crates but no dark haired slayers. The sheets looked untouched.

Buffy's thoughts returned to the bed she'd woken up in, her face furrowing as she anxiously played with her bottom lip. Her paranoia was growing as she began to try and work out exactly when she'd fallen asleep and how much of a head start Faith would have had to get out of town.

She shook her head trying to rid her mind of the treacherous path it wanted to take her down. She had to get over herself. Faith wouldn't have left Sunnydale just because she'd showed a vulnerable side and gotten burned for it.

Probably wouldn't.

She was eighty percent sure.

Thinking of the other slayer, she could only imagine where Faith's head was at right now or how she was dealing with the roller coaster of fun that was yesterday. The thought alone caused a swarm of bipolar butterflies to pour screaming into Buffy's stomach, laying ruin to her insides.

Since Faith's leg wasn't quite up to scratch she couldn't see how she would be able to relieve stress in either of her two favorite ways. But then, being the hotheaded impulsive type that she was, when Faith set her mind on something there was little to nothing that could dissuade her; mortal wounds be damned. Dreading what answers awaited her in the hours to come Buffy swallowed hard and headed down the stairs.

Each descending step was an effort, as if her body was as unwilling as her mind to face the aftermath. By the time she reached the bottom Buffy's apprehension had grown tenfold and she was reliving the confrontation outside the Bronze. Her heart lurched as she remembered that particular memory and the bombshell that came with it. She glanced toward the empty living room and then looked behind her abruptly, expecting to find Faith sitting at the dining room table. She stepped in cautiously but found it void of life. No sounds came from the kitchen and Buffy was suddenly aware of the serene quiet occupying the whole house. She sighed loudly, torn between relief and frustration at Faith's absence and walked listlessly to the kitchen. It too was unsurprisingly empty and she crossed to the fridge, feeling around inside it for the familiar shape of the orange juice carton. Buffy caught the vague reflection of herself in the gleaming white of the fridge door and an involuntary shudder rattled through her as it triggered the memory of discovering the thing that wore her face, stood smiling over Faith's lifeless body. She frowned as the memory persisted to play over in her head and uncapped the carton, taking a deep swig from it.

"Morning, Honey."

Buffy jumped out of her skin, almost choking as she spun around to find her mother standing in the doorway that adjoined the kitchen to the living room.

"Mom!" She exclaimed in surprise, her voice unnaturally high. She attempted to cover her reaction by following lamely with, "I didn't know you were home." The slayer tried to act the essence of casual in an attempt to hide the fact her heart was currently drumming itself toward a cardiac arrest. She bought herself time to recover by rooting through one of the cabinets for cereal that she didn't really have any intention of eating. It appeared ramming a pipe through a tank-sized monster wasn't enough to resurrect her slayer appetite; but in her current queasy state she doubted anything solid would stay down for long.

"Sorry if I crept up on you." A small smile flicked across her mother's face. "Usually you hear me coming." She was nursing a mug in her hands and had an expression that Buffy couldn't quite translate. Buffy suspected the dreaded door conversation was about to take place.

"It's fine. I was just..." Buffy's mind raced through a hundred and one excuses for her jumpiness but finding the effort too mentally exhausting she settled on the crux of it all, "Where's Faith?"

"Out." Joyce supplied after sitting at the island. "Said she had some errands to run. What on earth she needs to do this early on a Sunday I'll never know. That girl is a mystery sometimes." Buffy nodded, carefully keeping her expression neutral. She attempted to process the information rationally, a task made difficult by the barrage of frenzied questions being asked in her head. What if she's left town? What if that thing corners her again? How is she driving with that leg? Oh god, what if she crashes?! Buffy had to put a hammer down on her internal alarm system and reassure herself with the fact that Faith had apparently waited to tell her mother she was going out. If she really intended on leaving on a more permanent basis she doubted the girl would have been so courteous. She imagined Faith had explicitly done so to ensure Buffy knew she'd return. Though Buffy thought the drive might go some way toward cooling the slayer off, the reasons behind that need to cool off were partly her fault and it caused her earlier butterflies to return with a vengeance.

"She told me you stayed the night." Buffy's head perked up at her mother's voice. "Missing home already?" She asked playfully before sipping her coffee.

Buffy momentarily buried her worries and her face pinched in deep thought as she tapped the top of the carton against her chin. "This is clearly a test. I say no and I feel instant bad daughter syndrome. But I say yes, and I lose all the respect I've carefully collected from my academic peers. So I'm gonna have to go with a big 'no comment'."

Joyce chuckled as her smirking daughter took the seat opposite her. "Sorry about the boxes, by the way. I'm holding them for the gallery." Joyce explained, while Buffy idly fidgeted with the carton on top of the island, a new calm washing over her at the easy banter. This swiftly self-combusted to make room for all-consuming horror when her mother innocently added, "I hope you two weren't cramped in Faith's bed."

Buffy had been in the middle of taking a distracted drink from the carton and choked mid-gulp, spraying orange juice across the counter. After a coughing fit she hurried to wipe it clean, grabbing the nearby roll of paper while Joyce bemusedly watched her daughter's bizarre behavior.

"...no..." Buffy managed hoarsely, shaking her head for emphasis while she regained the function of her lungs. She wiped slowly at the stained worktop, her mind a useless haze. Buffy eventually composed herself, however she was too chicken to look her mother in the eye and kept her sights fixed on the soaked paper towel moving rhythmically back and forth across the counter when she casually inquired, "How, uh, was Faith this morning?"

Her mother thought over the question for a moment before lightly shrugging. "Fine, I suppose. She didn't say much. Oh," Buffy looked up at her mother's small exclamation, "she apologized about the bathroom door - which I hadn't even noticed if I'm honest! I think I got a bit carried away with the Merlot last night." She clarified for her daughter with a guilty smile, "Apparently she forgets her own strength sometimes. She's adamant about paying to get it fixed. Won't take no for an answer."

"She can be stubborn..." Buffy tried for a smile that came out as more of a grimace while she fidgeted on the spot. Buffy imagined promising to fix the door was a poor substitute for actual slaying but was in some part Faith's way of maintaining control of the situation. Unable to stop her anxious curiosity she persisted, "So she didn't seem...moodier than usual?"

"Not that I noticed." Joyce replied slowly, eyeing her daughter suspiciously as the blonde's face fought to remain neutral, "I mean she was up before me, a first for her. I found her sitting in the living room like she was waiting to leave. We talked for about a minute and she was out of the door before I could really ask anything else. Why? Did something happen last night?"

"No." The blonde replied instantly and garnered a dubious look from the woman across the island. She flashed her best rehearsed smile to reassure her concerned mother, then thinking exceptionally fast for that time of morning said, "No, everything is of the good. Faith just had an eventful night. Burnt the candle at both ends and got a little carried away...if you catch my drift." Buffy said the last part slowly, exaggerating the sheepish look that she threw toward the counter top and internally praised her incredible acting skills.

"Oh!" Joyce's eyes lit up after spending a few seconds staring clueless at her daughter. She looked a little flustered now, "Well, that's understandable." She fidgeted with her mug as Buffy smiled on innocently.

Technically, it hadn't been a lie. The subject of being a slayer and that entire part of her life was never easy to talk about with her mother; it being a constant source of fear and worry for the older woman. She tried her best to keep Joyce out of the loop - the less she knew the better - but Buffy wouldn't have had a clue in a hell dimension how to talk about the recent developments in Sunnydale; even if her mother wanted to know. It occurred to her it was all pretty ambiguous at the moment and she didn't want to come out sounding like she was in over her head.

Bringing Faith into their lives, into their house, had essentially left Joyce the guardian of not one, but two young women who met life and death situations every day. It was a small fortune that Joyce tended to see the positive side to having two slayers, assuming one would always watch the other's back. Buffy had to wonder if their dynamic duo routine would ever be quite the same after last night or even if Faith could bear to stay under her mother's roof after what she'd confessed outside the Bronze.

"Well I hope she's okay." Joyce said earnestly, oblivious to the pensive look on Buffy's face. The blonde blinked out of her thoughts to spot a solemn expression on her mother's face. "That girl's been through enough."

Buffy bristled considerably at her mother's specific concern for Faith and felt immediately guilty, scolding the part of her that was growling with unchecked jealousy. She knew her mother's words held truth despite how much that small part of her continued to pout and grumble.  
Squashing those negative feelings she took a breath and produced a genuine smile, "Don't worry, Mom. She's got me looking out for her."

* * *

After a brief catch up with her mother, Buffy headed up to take a much needed shower set to skin-searing temperatures to help remove the physical memories of the previous evening. When it came to getting dressed Buffy found she was self-consciously bearing in mind how it might affect Faith. She'd put on a snakeskin pattern top that showed off her stomach without even thinking and seeing herself in the mirror made her pause to re-evaluate the choice. She settled for a strapped top that kept her toned midriff out of sight and a summer skirt that passed her knees. She was only willing to go so far when faced with the current climate; she'd sacrificed critical tanning zones and the heat radiating through her window let her know it.

Remembering that she had promised Faith that she would ring Giles first thing in the morning - not that the other girl had showed any sign of hearing her - Buffy went back downstairs to do just that. She eventually put the phone back on its cradle once she had gotten tired of listening to the dial tone. Disappointed, she scowled at the phone as if it had wronged her but then let it go; she intended to pay him a visit as soon as Faith got back anyway.

Another half hour went by and Buffy had reached her threshold for patience. Coming to the decision to head out solo, she had just finished putting on a pair of wedged sandals when she heard the unmistakable sound of the latch in the front door. She stood up from her seat in the living room and watched Faith walk in and softly close the door behind her, eyes trained up the stairs. Buffy took the rare opportunity to regard the other slayer without her knowledge or defenses on alert. She regarded Faith's restless movements, anxiety written over her furrowed features as if uncertain of what do next. The scene was endearing to Buffy in a strange way, feeling privileged to see the elusive girl behind the armor and a warm smile sneaked its way on her face without her knowing. Her expression lost its warmth when she knew what would come next.

Buffy cleared her throat to announce her presence and Faith's head whipped round at the sound. She hid her surprise well and Buffy watched as Faith's walls went up instantaneously, her apprehensive gaze seamlessly switching to an expression of cool detachment.

"Hi." Buffy greeted quietly, determined to ignore the clear change and act like things between them were perfectly normal, while her eyes silently communicated everything she didn't dare say out loud.

Faith tilted her head, hands diving deep into the pockets of her jeans. Buffy guessed that was as close to a 'hello' as she could hope for and decided not to waste her time or intelligence asking how the slayer was.

"Where've you been?" She tried to make the question sound as far from demanding as possible.

"Out."

"Anywhere special?" Buffy chirped conversationally.

"Nope." Faith slowly enunciated it with a popping sound at the end while apparently fascinated with the top of the living room doorway. When her gaze finally dropped she seemed to stare blankly just to the right or left of Buffy's face, never daring to linger near her eyes. Buffy had the fleeting urge to do something; embrace the other girl in a hug, plead with Faith to confide in her, something - anything - to get back the friend she had grown to care so much about over the summer. But there were no magic words to fix the damage already done, no instant remedy, she would just have to wait out the storm and hope Faith returned intact. The poignancy of her inner turmoil must have shown in her eyes because Faith had chosen to stare at the ceiling again. Composing herself Buffy walked forward, keeping what she assumed was a safe distance and braved an inviting smile.

"I was just getting ready to head to Giles' place. But since you're here now we can go together. I rung ahead but he didn't pick up. He might not be home." Buffy supplied as Faith fidgeted restlessly in the foyer, using the boundary dividing the two rooms like a physical line to separate her from the blonde slayer.

"Right."

"With any luck," Buffy continued, overlooking Faith's lackluster response, "he has a lead on something. I rang the rest of the gang and told them to meet us there for show and tell."

Faith made a sound of acknowledgement that perfectly matched the indifference written over her face.

"Ohh-kay then." Buffy tilted her head self-consciously, looking away from the other slayer. Trying for a cheerful approach she asked, "Wanna go now?"

Faith stared back passively, her tongue running over her teeth behind tightly pressed lips, and Buffy was half expecting her to walk away without another word. Instead she eventually gave a curt nod and headed back out the front door. Now alone, Buffy let out an almighty sigh and attempted to shake off her nerves before calling goodbye to her mother and heading out too.

The temperature difference was instantly noticeable; bringing warmth quickly to her exposed skin as she followed Faith to the car parked a few houses down the street. Buffy noticed the slight limp Faith had as she walked up to the driver's side and made a mental note of it.

"Aren't you hot in that thing?" she asked as she got in the passenger's seat beside Faith, noting the stifling temperature in the car and referring to Faith's leather jacket.

"Nope." Faith responded flatly just before the old engine roared into life. Buffy nodded casually, her eyes roaming the car's interior.

"Cool." She offered a thin smile that nobody noticed. At least the breeze that whistled in through the open windows as the car drove down Rovello drive helped remove one of the reasons Buffy felt incredibly uncomfortable.

Several minutes passed before Buffy could think of another topic; this one only bordering on dangerous territory. "How's the leg?"

"Looks better than it feels, but it don't ache half as bad as before." Faith summarized sounding completely disinterested save for the slight note of agitation in her tone, "It'll live to kick ass another day."

Buffy's genuinely laughed for the first time that morning but when it served to only stiffen the other slayer's features further she had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. Desperate to get on to a new subject that might raise the other girl's mood, she tentatively said, "Thanks for covering about the door."

"Don't sweat it." Faith deadpanned, keeping her eyes on the road. "Had to tell your mom something. Sure wasn't gonna lead with the truth."

"Right." Buffy agreed as her gaze shifted between the driver and the windscreen several times. She bit her bottom lip from one end to the other, building the nerve to forge ahead with what she planned to say to the girl next to her. The tense silence in the car was palpable, unspoken truths lingered in the air between them and despite Faith's carefully constructed poker face Buffy knew she was just as aware of its presence.

Buffy wondered if music might lighten the mood a little and was about to reach for the car stereo when she noticed the entire stereo, CD player and all, had been forcibly removed. Quirking her head to the side in bemusement, Buffy turned to Faith and asked, "What happened here?"

The brunette's gaze flickered briefly to where Buffy gestured and when the girl turned back to the road Buffy thought she saw a dark glimmer of amusement in Faith's eyes as she simply said, "Phil had to go on tour."

The next five minutes passed in complete silence and Buffy had spent it wringing the life out of her hands. Unable to bear the tension a second longer, Buffy spun in her seat to look at Faith fully, "Faith, listen..." As if predicting her intentions from the moment she'd got in the car, Faith interrupted her in a calm but assertive manner that made Buffy falter.

"I should tell you, before you say something you might regret, that I am _**really**_ not in the right mind to play therapy with friends; especially not with you. I don't wanna talk about it, it's done and we're moving on. If you try to bring it up again I'm pullin' over and you can walk the rest of the way, got it?" She hadn't raised her voice or even looked in her direction but her unnervingly firm tone told Buffy the threat was genuine. Feeling her cheeks grow hot she took a moment to swallow against the lump lodged in her throat.

"Message received." Buffy muttered sullenly as she crossed her arms and turned her frosty gaze to the scenery passing by the passenger window. She was beginning to grow a little sick of Faith's relapse into her old repressive tendencies and her sympathy for the other girl was steadily souring into irritation. She stared out of the window in silence for the remainder of the journey.

* * *

After experiencing the second most awkward car journey of her life, the other having occurred only the night before, Buffy was more than glad to be out of the vehicle and able to put some distance between herself and Faith. She openly welcomed the excuse to bury her head into the biggest, most verbose book Giles had in his possession if it meant having a reason to ignore the other slayer and the hostility coming off her in waves. It was fair to say her anxiety had gone right out the window followed swiftly by sympathy and Buffy was using all her self-control not to smack the permanent scowl Faith had adopted for the foreseeable future. Maybe things would be just as tense in Giles' company, but at least Buffy would have the others around to act as a buffer between her and the girl with a world of anger that she had partially fueled.

Looking on the positive side, with any luck Buffy was about to learn something of their new mystery foe and with help from the others they might have a means to defeat it before the end of the day, putting a lid on the whole unpleasant chapter for good. At least then she would only have one crisis to deal with at a time; unless Frankenstein's monster or Dracula decided to pay her a visit next week, she thought dryly, knowing her luck all too well.

When Buffy's knock caused Giles' front door to creak open of its own accord her fragile hope for the rest of her day was shattered in an instant.

"Oh, god." The words left Buffy's lips in a stunned whisper as she took in the scene of carnage that greeted them inside the townhouse. Nothing had been spared. The shredded couch stood vertically, propped against a wall, an armchair blocked the passage to the stairs, the coffee table was shattered and upside-down, light fixtures had been broken, personal effects strewn carelessly across the room among the sea of books that littered the floor with various trinkets and occult objects that had been dislodged from their homes. The bookshelves were half empty; one of the stacks having collapsed on top of Giles' small television and spilled its contents in a jumbled pile around the broken set.

Faith remained frozen in the doorway for a long, tense minute, not knowing what to say or do while Buffy frantically searched the house from top to bottom. Faith moved a few steps past the front door, watching as the other slayer forcibly pulled the armchair from its pinned position between the wall and banister, tossing it aside effortlessly before charging up the stairs. When Buffy finally returned, the look that awaited her on Faith's face was practically a glare of condemnation.

"He's gone." Buffy said in a small, tight voice, her eyes wide and misty.

She physically flinched when Faith let out a guttural roar of anger and sent the remains of a wooden chair skidding across the room. It hit the staircase with a bang that echoed loudly through the empty house.

"Goddammit!" Faith's frustration was a living thing itching to tear forth from her body and throttle the life out of something. Her hands were clawing back through her hair and her mouth was open in an incredulous grimace. She grit her teeth hard, her hands coming down as clenched fists that Buffy kept a wary eye on, as Faith looked like she might lash out again at any second time.

Buffy fixed her with frightened eyes. Her brain was still processing Giles' abduction and the last thing she needed was for the other slayer to lose her cool in a big way. "Faith, please, calm down-"

"No!" The brunette rounded on Buffy making her take a step back uneasily over the debris-covered floor.

"I understand, I know-"

"Oh, screw off!" Faith snapped angrily, "You couldn't even hope to understand what it's like!"

Buffy's reproachful look rose to defiantly meet Faith's rock steady glower. "This thing's been on my back, not yours! You think that show last night was to get under your skin or mine? It's in my head, it knows what I want and what buttons to push and that scares me in ways Kakistos couldn't."

Seeing the raw emotion pouring out of the other slayer dissolved some of Buffy's own anger and she attempted to physically reach out and console the other girl only to have Faith slap her hand away. Faith backed up with eyes wide with warning of the danger Buffy was stepping into.

"Don't." The word was uttered like a hollow groan, "Just...don't touch me, okay?"

Buffy gave the other slayer some space, getting a good few feet between them to show her submission to the angry slayer. She felt sick to her stomach, overwhelmed by a wave of despair that, after the morning she'd already had, left her a hair's breadth from curling into a ball on the floor. They had spent an uneventful summer jovially lamenting the lack of supernatural activity, wondering when the next big bad would reveal its A-game and in just one night, with barely any warning, it struck them a blow that had tested their strength, heart and mind. They had been shown how clueless they were to what had been clearly biding its time carefully in the shadows, and were now deprived of the one reliable source of comfort and knowledge that they had flocked to on so many occasions before when evil had had the upper hand.

Buffy was brought back to the present when Faith inhaled deeply and let the air back out like a dragon breathing smoke. "It's fine. I'm cool."

"You sure?" The blonde slayer regarded Faith's tight and agitated body language doubtfully.

"Yeah." She folded her arms across her chest in an attempt to keep the fists attached to them from doing something rash. Faith's jaw was working animatedly and she was unable to stop from pacing on the spot, but her eyes had lost some of the reckless intensity Buffy had seen before.

"Good. Thank you." Buffy sent her a tentative smile as a hesitant peace offering. The other slayer didn't respond, continuing to pace. Buffy's gaze fell back on the mess that had once been Giles' living room. With a resolved frown she began to trudge through the uneven terrain in search of some clue, no matter how small, that might be able help her learn where her old watcher had been taken.

The slayer heard someone else enter the house and she looked around to see Xander standing in the doorway with a box full of pastry goods; half a bear claw currently stuffed in his mouth. He swallowed slowly, taking in the scene of destruction with wide uncomprehending eyes. "Oh, this doesn't bode well."

* * *

Buffy watched Willow gingerly step between disheveled books from her position sat on the edge of Giles' ornate writing desk; one of the few pieces of furniture that was still upright. The witch was taking great care not to add further insult to the injury of leather bound tomes that were older than all present company combined. Oz had cleared space for the couch and was lowering what remained of it to the floor. In its pathetic state it did very little in terms of returning order to the ruined living space.

The couple had appeared shortly after Xander and Willow had been all wide eyes and anxious fretting; the sight of the book massacre racking up her dismay even more with just a touch of anger. Oz had been Oz. Muted and subtle in his surprise, he had managed an astonished but reserved, "Wow."

Her head turned as Xander walked in through the door. "Neighbors didn't see or hear anything. No one left the house." He reported, looking primarily at Buffy. She nodded her thanks distractedly and let her eyes roam back around the room.

Faith was a coiled spring that glared sporadically at various items around the house as if seeking an excuse to start a fight. She was currently propped against the wall next to the kitchen alcove and was for the time being remaining quietly angry. As long as she stayed put and wasn't momentarily the focus of all that anger then Buffy was moderately happy.

She thought back to the big Broadway musical of awkward that had been last night and found herself wishing to go through it all again in exchange for having Giles standing in front of her now. Dealing with an angry, violated slayer that just happened to be in love with you was one thing, but the loss of her mentor, his condition unknowable, had her teetering on the edge of some category of breakdown; her overloaded brain wasn't too picky on which kind chose to claim what remained of her composure.

This unknown thing had attacked her and Faith, attempted to drown the other slayer wearing her face and seemingly unsatisfied with that, it had the audacity to drag Giles away in the night. Buffy was beginning to understand the anger that had consumed Faith. To say things had become personal was a laughable understatement.

What could be salvaged had been placed in a neat pile beside her on Giles desk or placed back on the bookcases that were still standing. The rest had been swept aside or thrown in black trash bags but Willow had made it a habit of putting even the most sorry-looking texts in a pile of her own on the now upright coffee table. She insisted that Giles wouldn't be happy if they ended up throwing away something he would deem priceless despite its ruined state. No one had had the heart to tell her otherwise and more than half of what she sorted through had ended up on the coffee table. She was down to the last remaining pieces scattered around the floor when a particular item with a thick, decorated cover caught her eye. She let out an appalled gasp.

"Not the Compendium of Shades!" Willow cried in horror as she gingerly picked up the remains of the destroyed tome. "What sick monster could do this to you?"  
As Buffy turned to observe the commotion, Xander shot a subtle look of warning at Willow who went bug-eyed when she remembered the broader situation.

"But k-kidnapping of Giles - way worse!" Willow amended quickly with wide eyes full of apology. "Way worse than the desecration of ancient, irreplaceable literature..." her resentment of this had leaked through a little and she trailed off, looking sheepishly away from Buffy and back again.

Buffy's brief smile let her know no harm had been done. "Are any of them intact?"

"A few. What's left on the shelves is thankfully safe." Willow summarized grimly, "It's hard to tell if specific texts were deliberately damaged. It might take a while to work that out." The redhead sadly stroked the intricate cover of the Compendium before putting it to rest on Giles cracked coffee table.

"That's great." Faith abruptly announced, drawing the attention of the room. "Now are we gonna mope about the books some more or go find Giles before there's nothing left of him?"

"Hey." Buffy's sharp tone was edged with a gentle understanding as she stared down the sullen-faced slayer. "No one's going anywhere until we know all the facts."

"What ya gonna do dust for prints?" Faith asked, scowling contemptuously.

"No, but they'll be a chalk outline if you keep this up." Buffy warned impatiently.

Faith rolled her eyes away and picked somewhere on the ceiling to glare at but remained quiet.

"Well this is usually the part where we hit the books but our knowledge-filled friends look like they've seen better days." Xander pointed out while examining an incoherent bundle of paper, its cover stated it was once 'Oxford's Dictionary of the Occult'. He attempted to turn the page and half the book spilled out over the floor. Willow stared at him, slapping her arms against her sides in disbelief as he winced apologetically.

She turned to Buffy and with a shrug, suggested, "You said we were gonna discuss what happened at the Bronze and your house. I know Giles was kind of key to operation get-a-clue, but you might as well tell us what we're up against."

"If I knew that I'd already be staking it." Buffy sighed irritably. She recounted the incident with the thing that had attacked her and Faith outside the Bronze; carefully sidestepping the reason to why either of them had been out there in the first place and what had occurred before the monster's arrival. She approached the incident at her house much more hesitantly, taking a moment to glance Faith's way. When the brunette didn't provide any of her own feedback Buffy hastily gave her cliff notes version of the event.

"So you're saying something that looked exactly like you gate crashed on Faith's bath time?" Xander nodded slowly as he processed this information. "That is...very interesting." He stated with as much innocence as he could muster. Buffy's eyes traveled to him slowly. He couldn't quite decipher the warning glare she was aiming at him but it was enough to raise the hairs on the back of his neck. "Right. Not the time for horn dog humor - statement retracted. No interest at all."

"Are we a hundred percent sure this was the doing of some supernatural evildoer?" Willow said while continuing to casually rifle through the scraps of paper scattered over the toppled furniture, "I mean I believe you saw what you saw but what if there's some mischievous witch or warlock behind the scenes? Maybe one of Giles' old council friends - well not friends - but maybe someone from his past wanted something from him. This thing's gone straight for you two, Oz and then Giles. Like its being used to toy with us."

"Do we know anyone who could pull this off?" Oz asked with solemn interest. Buffy could tell from the furrowed look on his face that he was not at all keen on the idea of someone being able to manipulate his monthly changes.

"There's always reliable Ethan Rayne." Buffy mused vaguely as she carefully contemplated her friend's theory.

"He's fooled us twice in the past. Usually likes to focus on plans that spoil Giles' day." Xander added as he picked a donut out of the pastry box.

"I dunno. He's all about the chaos and dark mojo that brings it about." Buffy said looking distracted in thought. Her eyes flicked around the group. "Nothing so far screams chaos-y to me. It's too organized. Too quiet." Her gesturing hands fell back against her sides showing her frustration. "There's been no evil monologues, no omens, no reports of weirdness on the local news, no deaths - at least as far as I know."

"What if they're taking people quietly? Like with Giles?" Willow ventured abruptly, "There could be reports of missing people or deaths that weren't out in the open."

"I guess it doesn't hurt to cover all our bases." Buffy quirked her head in agreement, "Do you think you could find a way into the local crime records? Snoop around for anything extra suspicious?"

"Count me on it." Willow beamed, puffing out her chest. She walked over to her satchel and pulled out her laptop, plopping down on the couch next to Oz. She quirked an eyebrow at her boyfriend as the cushion beneath her sagged significantly more than usual.

"That's it?! That's your brain trust's genius plan?" Faith cried incredulously, suddenly kicking herself off from the wall, her arms held out in disbelief. "We get red to play hacker girl and hope she finds enough missing person cases for it to be classed as 'suspicious'?"

"It's a start." Buffy retorted tightly, standing up to face off against the approaching slayer.

"Well it sucks." Faith snapped back insolently.

"Let's hear your big idea then?" Buffy sniped, her temper getting the better of her already stressed state. Xander's eyes flicked back and forth between the two slayers like a spectator at a tennis match as he quietly ate his donut.

"I go out, hunt this thing down and kill it." Faith clapped her hands together and gave a spread armed shrug, "The end."

"Just you?" Buffy inquired uncertainly.

"This is my fight." The brunette jutted out her chin resolutely, "Thing clearly has a bone or two to pick with me and I'm more than happy to quit the foreplay and get to the main event."

Buffy squinted as if trying to discover the logic in Faith's plan. "I don't know if you noticed, but it took both of us to fight this thing last time and we didn't exactly win."

"Well round two's gonna have a whole different outcome." Faith promised darkly.

"Okay." Buffy humored the other slayer, nodding as if she was considering the plan even though she still thought it was flat out ludicrous. "So let's say you go out looking and nothing shows up. How does your instant action plan work then?"

"Oh, it'll show." Faith replied confidently, "I can't see this thing passing up the chance to mess with me."

Buffy was on the brink of telling her how stupid an idea this was, that she would end up dead if she was lucky and worse if she wasn't, but instead she skipped over that and tried a different approach. "So you're gonna wander the streets till something jumps out and then hope you can take it by yourself?"

"More or less," Faith gave a careless shrug before she said nonchalantly, "I'll work my way to Shady Hill, I reckon that's where the vamp I bumped into came up, and then if that place is dead I'll go find some other dark hole this thing might be hiding in."

"Don't you think that's a little reckless?" Buffy asked in a tone that suggested the question was rhetorical. Becoming greatly agitated by the other slayer's thoughtless plan Buffy found her voice growing louder, "Why are you in such a rush to do this?"

"They haven't exactly been taking it slow on the attack, B." Faith pointed out heatedly, "Don't see how we've got time to waste. You wanna wait till someone else is gone?"

"No, but I am gonna plan out my next move because I'm not in a hurry to die today!" The blonde snapped back.

"I don't need a plan." Faith stated boldly, gesturing as animatedly as Buffy, "Thing'll find me and when it does I'll smack that damn smile off its face."

"But you don't have to do it alone!" Buffy yelled, exasperated.

"Hey, I ain't saying you have to sit in your dorm with your feet up. Not like I can stop you." The younger slayer folded her arms and shrugged before thoughtfully adding, "Maybe even use Oz to bait it out."

The red-haired teenager who had been focused on Willow's laptop screen looked up at the mention of his name. He had only been half-listening to the conversation but he soon recalled Xander's question and blinked, furrowing his brow.

"Me?" He sounded mildly alarmed. Buffy's gaze flickered from him to Willow, the latter fixing the blonde with a mortified stare that she then directed to Faith.

"Supernatural types are going missing so figures having one of the last in town is gonna score big on their radar." Faith explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But if he changes again he could kill someone!" Willow cried as a grim frown appeared on Oz' face.

"Then you better hope B puts him down before he does." Faith stated flatly, pacing a path around Giles' desk. Willow looked bewildered and was shooting Buffy a silent scream for help.

"Faith, hold up here. We're brainstorming and that's great but these are just ideas." Buffy stated calmly, "We still have to talk this through before we do anything."

"God, what's there to talk about?!" Faith cried in a maddened state as she pressed her hands against the sides of her head. "Even if there was something to know what are you gonna do about it? Read through the five books that are left and hope one conveniently has all the answers?"

"This is how we've always done this, Faith." Buffy asserted hotly, refusing to back down this time. "Giles would do the same for any of us. He would think. He would plan ahead and work out the safest and most efficient way to go about it." Her voice wavered slightly after the mention of the watcher's name but she persevered without pause, "If you don't like it then you might as well leave."

Faith made a loud scoffing sound before declaring, "Works for me!" Her eyes flashed as she gave a defiant leer and strode out the door with all her usual swagger. Buffy's mouth hung open in surprise and it took a second for her to shake the shock of the other girl's boldness before going after her.

"Faith, wait!" She had a feeling it would do her good to prevent anyone overhearing the conversation about to take place and shut the door behind her before crossing the courtyard to where Faith had grudgingly stopped. The dark-haired slayer slowly turned to the fix Buffy with a look of bored impatience.

"What?"

"This is a mistake." Buffy intoned, deadly serious.

"Oh? You don't think I can handle myself?" The other girl challenged, raising her eyebrow.

"I didn't say that." Buffy deflected with hushed anger.

"But you're thinking it. It's written all over your face." Faith sneered, pointing a finger at said face. She then did a mocking impersonation of the blonde, "Poor Faith can't fight. Poor Faith's too emotional right now. Poor Faith needs big sister Buffy to save the day."

Buffy glared back but said nothing.

"Admit it." The ghost of a scornful smile crept onto her face, "You think I'm some lovesick puppy that you need to take care of before I go and do something stupid. Can your ego get any bigger, Goldilocks?"

"Oh, of course it must be my ego!" Buffy exclaimed sardonically like the thought had never occurred to her, "Silly me, I should have thought better to mistake avoidance and misplaced anger for signs of unrequited romantic feelings!" Buffy exaggerated her heavy sarcasm with the mock gestures of a ditsy blonde, then turned deadpan serious and snapped, "I take a psych class you complete idiot."

"Whatever." Faith growled, continuing to walk toward the street and Buffy was forced to reach out to stop her. The limb stiffened and sensing she might soon encounter the fist on the end of it, Buffy let go and took a step back as Faith reluctantly turned around.

"Please, just - just let me come with you. Don't shut me out." Buffy insisted, all but begging.

"Cus letting you in did me a world of good." Faith scowled darkly, backpedaling away from the other slayer.

Buffy's hands covered her face as fear and frustration brought her to the verge of tears. Swallowing down the urge to cry, Buffy set her gaze somewhere on the tiled floor between them and in a thick voice said, "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to make this about me. It's just...I'm scared." She admitted in a quiet voice that all but cracked, her eyes attempting to convey how desperate she currently felt but failing to receive Faith's gaze. "About Giles - about everything that happened last night and I d-don't like feeling like I can't do a thing to stop it. I need you with me in this."

Faith rolled her shoulders restlessly on the spot and stared sullenly at the ground. Buffy, realizing her words had affected the other girl, pushed the advantage and said gently, "If you really believe this idea will work...fine, okay. We'll do it your way. But at least have someone watching your back. I get this is personal, I won't get in your way unless I really have to."

Faith considered the proposal begrudgingly, her eyes threatening to roll at any moment as she stared irritably off to the side. A minute passed before she closed her eyes and exhaled loudly through her nose. Eventually, with her eyes still shut, she managed to grind out, "I'll be at Shady Hill Cemetery at eight thirty on the dot, south entrance. If you're late I'll go in without you." Without looking at the older slayer, Faith turned and walked away.

* * *

"Is she okay?" Xander asked curiously when Buffy had returned, "She's seemed off since the car ride last night."

Buffy froze slightly at the unexpected question and looked at her friend with uncomprehending eyes. Thinking of something quickly that she felt held some weight to the truth she said, "I think it has more to do with the almost drowning and the body that was used to do it."

"Must be weird." Xander mused with a nod, "She wasn't exactly your biggest fan after you came to blows over the whole Gwendolyn Post fiasco. Maybe it dragged up old memories."

"Right, yeah." Buffy took the scapegoat gladly but began to seriously wonder how much truth was in Xander's assumption.

"Don't worry I'm sure she'll come around." Xander said encouragingly, patting her on the shoulder, "No one can stay mad at the Buffmeister."

Buffy offered him a faltering smile that didn't go unnoticed. Xander scrutinized his friend in silence as she moved away further into the house. He almost reached out to question the doubtful look he'd seen on her face but she began to address the group before he could.

"Listen guys, I'm gonna head out tonight with Faith and patrol for this thing. It's a long shot but I'm willing to try anything right about now. That being said," She glanced furtively at the couple on the couch, "I think Faith's bait idea has actual legs to stand on." Buffy admitted begrudgingly, "I'm sorry, Will," She added off of the Witch's look of disbelief, "but if we want a chance of getting Giles back I need his help. I need all of you."

Willow's mask of hurt lessened somewhat but she still appeared dubious of the plan Buffy was proposing. In her most confident voice she said, "I promise, Willow. I won't let anything happen to him. I won't let anyone else be taken like Giles."

"It's not me you should be worried about." Oz warned with the thinnest of smiles.

"I know if we have an encounter things might get hairy - literally. I need you to trust that I'll stop you from hurting anyone - especially me." She joked lightly before adding seriously, "Think you can do it?"

Oz seemed to be weighing his options as his eyes darted around before meeting Buffy's again, "Yeah, I can do it. But if you see me acting strange, don't hesitate."

"I won't." Buffy said earnestly, "As much of a gamble as this is a graveyard's a nice, big, empty space for a showdown. Better there than in the streets or somewhere there's a chance of civilian casualties."

"I want to come with you." Willow spoke up suddenly.

Buffy gave her friend a sympathetic look, "Will..."

"You said you needed all of our help. Well if you're busy fighting you won't have time to focus on stopping Oz transforming fully and you could end up being killed by him or the other while trying to do both. If he has to do this I want to be there ready to stop him when things get wolf-shaped."

Buffy's tight lipped frown demonstrated her discomfort with the idea of having Willow out in the open but her friend did argue a good point.

"Plus I'm getting pretty handy with the whole magick thing. I'm not quite Hogwarts but I know just enough that could help in a pinch."

"Okay. Fine." Buffy relented unenthusiastically. She pointed a warning finger at the smiling witch, "If you die I will not be happy."

Her expression turning hard and she strode toward Giles' weapon chest.

Xander scratched at the back of his head as he hesitantly asked, "Buff, what exactly do you plan to do if you find this thing?"

The slayer turned to reveal a long sword clutched tightly in one hand. Her eyes met his with unwavering purpose. "What I do best. They want my attention? They've got it." There was fire in the slayer's steely gaze as she looked at each one of them individually. "I'm gonna make them wish they hadn't."

* * *

The temperature had dropped enough by the evening for Buffy to wear a jacket over her thin top and she was thankful for the excuse to have an extra layer on. The cemetery was quiet but she'd felt incredibly exposed as soon as she'd stepped on the grounds; as if unseen eyes had turned her way as soon as her feet had touched the dying grass.

They had found the south entrance void of Faith and Buffy had assumed the slayer had gone in ahead of them, too impatient to wait. She, Willow and Oz had been in Shady Hill cemetery for just under an hour and hadn't had so much as a peep from anything. This included a certain slayer who had remained incredibly elusive for the entire duration of their patrol. With each passing minute Buffy seemed outwardly more agitated by both these facts and it hadn't gone unnoticed by her two companions. The slayer blew out a frustrated breath, the most recent of many, and sent her bangs flying out of her face. She missed the exchange of looks that occurred between Willow and Oz who trailed behind her, sensing it best to keep some distance. Her head turned left and right continuously as she marched between graves, looking like a bird of prey with a score to settle.

The slayer abruptly came to a stop and turned around, one hand firmly planted to her hip and the other brandishing a sword. "She's not here." She turned toward Willow and Oz her head shaking with disbelief as she glared passed them and into the distance. "I can't believe her! That stupid, stubborn jackass is gonna get herself killed!"

"I'm sure she's around here somewhere." Willow said as she watched her angry friend pace back and forth. "For all you know maybe she already found this thing."

Buffy's razor sharp look told the witch she was not at all happy about that idea and was now seriously considering it as a possibility for Faith's absence.

"O-Or not." The redhead corrected quickly under the slayer's furrowed mask of worry. Returning to Buffy's original assumption, she asked, "If she didn't come here where else would she be?"

"I don't know." The blonde appeared irritated by this admission "I shouldn't have let her go off on her own."

Willow could see a mix of emotions fighting beneath the surface and she

"I'm sure Faith'll be okay, Buffy. She is a slayer after all."

"Willow, please stop trying to make me feel better." The slayer stomped ahead, missing the crestfallen look on her friend's face.

"O-Okay." The witch replied meekly.

Oz glanced from Buffy's retreating back to his deflated girlfriend and said softly, "Don't let her get to you. She doesn't mean it."

"Right. I-I know. There's a lot that's happened. She's just a little stressed."

"Well I wouldn't be that forgiving, but sure." Willow smiled weakly at the grin on her boyfriend's face.

"I get why Giles being watcher-napped would make her rattier than Amy on a bad fur day, but I dunno. There's something else she's not telling us." Willow "Like what?"

"Well didn't she and Faith seem a little...abrasive earlier?" Willow asked in a hushed tone, keeping her eyes trained on the slayer even though she was a considerable distance ahead of them.

"There did seem to be a whole clashing of horns vibe." Oz admitted, thinking back. "Isn't that normal for them?"

"I guess." Willow agreed uncertainly, "Buffy said there'd been a miscommunication between them the other day. I bet they'll be back to normal in no-"

"Will you two keep up!" Buffy shouted from some thirty feet ahead of them. Willow and Oz shared an uneasy look in silence before reluctantly quickening their pace after the disgruntled slayer.

"I take back what I said to you earlier." Willow practically whispered as she glanced at her boyfriend.

Oz thought for a moment, "About you not wanting me out here?"

"Yup." Willow gave a single nod as she kept wary eyes on the retreating form in front of them. "I'd take scary werewolf you over Buffy any day of the week right now."

"Be careful what you wish for." Oz said darkly.

Willow shot him a small, sympathetic smile. She lifted up the tranquilizer rifle slung around her shoulder by its strap, "I think I'll be okay."

"She's just scared." Oz said matter-of-factly, "For Giles, for all of us I think."

"Yeah, I know. I'm worried about him too. I have to admit I feel a little like we've lost our compass." Willow admitted sadly as she hugged herself, "I want to ask his opinion and hear him say something steeped in wisdom and insight, and then I'm like, 'oh, right'. Guess we kinda take him for granted."

"Maybe." Oz agreed, his voice sounding oddly stiff.

"I mean I always tried to show how much I appreciated him and he was one of those parental figures who made me feel reading books was cool and I really liked that about him."

"Willow." The urgency in Oz' voice caught the wiccan's attention and her eyes grew wide as saucers as black eyes looked sorrowfully back. "...it's happening."

"Buffy!" The slayer spun around and spotted Oz in his state of transformation. As she ran back to them Willow nervously asked, "What now?"

Buffy was too busy to answer as she circled around the pair searching out the source for Oz' inexplicable shape-shifting.

A monstrous snarl woke Willow up from her shocked state and she quickly fumbled with the tranquilizer gun, pushing a dart into the barrel with a shaking hand. She aimed the gun toward Oz' contorting form, trying her best to get a clear shot as he writhed about.

After several more seconds of hesitation his head swung up and a deep baritone of his once familiar voice roared, "Do it!"

The muted whistle of the dart ended as it stopped dead in the center of Oz' chest. His fanged face looked down at it for a moment and then he fell backward onto the ground. Willow winced as she watched his head connect with the parched earth.

"I don't see anything!" Buffy whispered angrily

A gravelly voice in the dark choked out something that brought Willow out in a cold sweat.

"...I...don't see...annnnything..."

Buffy exchanged a brief glance with the redhead and noted the pale look of fear upon her face, hands gripping the rifle in front of her like a shield. "Why don't you stop hiding and

"...dooon't seeee..."

This time the voice had sounded like it had come from behind her and Buffy spun around in confusion.

"...annnythinnng..."

She turned again, the sickly voice originating to her left now. Buffy felt an apprehensive dread curl up from her stomach that increased to full-blown terror when a chorus of ungodly voices roared in unison, "BUT-WE-SEE-YOU!"

Bright, white, pupiless eyes suddenly littered the darkness in every direction and both girls shrunk away till they were back to back. The smallest were mere pinpricks of light in the dark; the biggest made Buffy's imagination go wild with fear.

"I think..." Buffy started, swallowing dryly, "I may have underestimated how many of these things were in town."

"Just a little." Willow agreed in a voice that was practically a whimper.

Something rushed toward Buffy without warning and smacked her hard across the face. She stumbled to the ground with the force and her head connected with a horrible thud against a headstone.

Willow screamed in surprise and raised the barrel of her gun. She paused, her eyes going wide when she realized the attacker was Oz; apparently awake and extraordinarily angry. Another dart joined the first still protruding from Oz' chest but he simply replied with a deep, angry growl.

"B-Buffy! She could tell her friend was out for the count and that she was very much alone with her growling boyfriend. Willow began to back up, her eyes daring not to blink as she watched the werewolf slowly stand, hunched over as his body continued changing from the point it had been interrupted; his spine continuing to grow and bend him into unnatural shapes. He reached the point of full transformation Willow had seen many times before and then something horrific happened - he didn't stop.

His arms grew longer; his legs thick with powerful muscles; claws extended as sharp black points on unnaturally long fingers. His head stretched and cracked as his cries of pain steadily became an unending howl; a snout pushing forth his nose and mouth as his brow thickened to form the terrifying stare of a mindless predator.

She had never seen him transform into such a formidable size and shape like the one currently standing a few feet from her now. He stood upright on long, muscular legs with a snout long and filled with thick, yellowing fangs. His eyes glowed ominously in the dark - small black pinpricks for pupils demonstrated a supernatural fury she could only stare back at in terror.

Continuing to back away, she fearfully searched out the white eyes surrounding her only to discover empty darkness once again, but let out a frightened shout when her distracted gaze caused her to trip and fall. Willow grimaced as white hot pain spread through her ankle and she glanced around quickly to see the hulking werewolf charging toward her. She frantically scrambled to her feet and almost stumbled again; limping toward the nearest crypt she could see. Oz let out another ferocious snarl and the bestial sound was so close that Willow screamed, throwing her body the rest of the way into the crypt in an awkward jump and hitting the stone floor hard. She twisted onto her back in an instant, shot out her hands and shouted, "RECITO!"

The gate at the entrance of the crypt slammed shut in the werewolf's face and a deafening metallic clang rung through the confines of the tomb. Oz reeled back with a surprised yelp then paused to examine this new obstacle with feverish curiosity. It appeared he wasn't going to give up as easily as Willow had hoped.

The wiccan took a few seconds to get her breath back, ignoring the pain in her ankle as she pushed herself up into a sitting position against the sarcophagus in the center of the cold tomb.  
"Oz..." The werewolf's head snapped up and remained eerily still as he stared at the frightened face that had uttered the name. "...please...please try to remember...w-who I am..." she managed in a cracked and shuddering voice, "It's me...Willow..."

The wolf cocked his head as if some spark of recognition had registered within the beast's basic mind. Willow tentatively stood and took baby steps toward the gate, cautiously watching for signs of danger as the werewolf's feral eyes watched her come closer. His deep, panting breath echoed loudly in the crypt and Willow was now close enough to feel it blow back her hair as she stood in terrified silence.

Without warning Oz forced his arm between the bars of the gate and swung wildly at her face, just cutting the skin of her cheek. She flinched back in fear and her ankle gave way leaving her crumpled on the cold stone floor. His snout snapped furiously between the bars before rising toward the moon to release a deafening roar of frustration. He abruptly reared back and for a long, horribly quiet moment Willow couldn't see or hear the creature. The distant chirp of crickets met her ringing ears and she slowly sat up to peer fearfully out into the dark sea of moonlit graves.

The gate rattled violently as something large collided hard against it, the old iron ringing loudly. The werewolf charged again and this time the whole crypt shook with the sheer brute force of the impact. Again and again the furious creature lunged at the obstacle keeping it from its easy prey, the gap between each impact growing smaller as the werewolf's rage reached a bloodthirsty madness. The sounds coming from its fanged mouth were unrecognizable, a frothing chorus of impatient snarling and bellowing anger.

Willow felt silent tears trickle down her face as the gate began to creak pitifully, several of the bars having already buckled inward. A muscular clawed arm shot into the newly formed gap and slashed eagerly at the stone edges of the entrance. It disappeared after a few seconds and the gate rattled almost nonstop from the barrage of enthusiastic attacks that followed. The wolf knew he was almost there. Willow tried to think of a spell she could use that would possibly put the beast down without causing irreversible damage to the man she loved inside it.  
Unable to find the heart or will to harm Oz and petrified to the floor, Willow closed her eyes and let out a quiet sob, waiting for the sound of twisting metal to announce her death sentence.

It came sooner than she thought, a gust of air sweeping across her face as the gate clanged violently against the inner wall and she braced herself for the inevitable heat and pain of the lycanthrope's jaws. A tense few seconds dragged by to the drumming within her chest. When all she heard was the quiet creaking of the gate swinging on its hinges Willow opened one hesitant eye. Her other eye opened when she was greeted by the open but empty crypt entrance.

She screamed when a large, furry object sailed by in front of her and collided with the side of a mausoleum.

* * *

Buffy glowered down at the werewolf crumpled against the stone wall.

"Bad Oz. Sit." She ordered with no humor in her tone as she held her sword ready by her hip.

"Buffy!" Willow looked incredibly relieved to see the blonde but the slayer didn't look at her, refusing to take her eyes off the werewolf that was beginning to recover. "Something's wrong with him. I used the tranquilizers but he just kept changing!"

"It's okay, Will." Buffy said softly, contrasting with the hard, unforgiving gaze she had fixed on Oz. "I'll take care of it."

"Don't hurt him!"

This time Buffy's eyes traveled to her friend and Willow saw a pained sympathy reflected silently at her, "I'll do my best. If I can't keep him down..." A shadow of some unspoken fear passed across the Slayer's tight features. Willow could only stare as a pool of nausea filled her stomach.

A loud growl returned Buffy's attention front and center and she watched as a stunned and likely very angry Oz groggily shook his elongated head. His gaze suddenly snapped to her and he became still, another rumbling growl building in his chest as he rose to full height. Buffy followed his ascent, showing no reaction even as she noticed that Oz was far larger and more bestial than he usually was for his time of the month.

As she was still registering this Oz lunged forward in an abrupt rage and she had to avoid several fast swipes of his massive clawed hands before finding an opportunity to crack her elbow across his snout. His head whipped to the side but he quickly struck her with an uppercut that sent her back into a nearby tree. Leaves rained down around them as the werewolf bounded after the slayer and she had to kick out from her compromising position, pushing him back long enough for her to rise to her feet and greet him with a proper roundhouse kick. Oz snarled furiously as his head smashed against the edged of a tombstone.

When he stood back to full height a new level of anger flashed in his furrowed glare. Buffy watched him click his neck to the side before beginning to stride toward her. She drew her sword, standing ready, but was quickly forced to dodge several vicious, lightning-fast swipes and a lunging bite that had come within half an inch of removing her nose. Buffy reeled back with wide eyes and was stopped when her rear connected with a tall headstone. She rolled to the side just in time to watch the marble epitaph explode into a shower of stone and dust, barely having time to duck as part of the marble was tossed her way.

Oz approached, shaking white dust from his hide not unlike a dog and Buffy might have found it funny if it hadn't been for the murderous, unblinking stare and three inch claws. Deciding flight would serve her better than fight; the slayer sprinted away, scouring her brain for a way to incapacitate Oz without killing him. A cursory glance over her shoulder let her know that the werewolf was bounding after her at an unnaturally fast gallop, smashing through headstones, statues and any other masonry that got in his way like it was paper mache. The sight was enough to make Buffy's legs pump even harder.

Seeing an opportunity she raced toward a crypt with a flat roof, forcing herself to have a decent distance from her pursuer and ignoring the burning sensation in her calf muscles. She skidded to a halt just short of colliding with the moss-covered wall and pressed her back up against the crypt.

Oz hadn't been as far behind as she'd imagined.

At the last possible second she jumped up, grasped for the lip of the stone roof and kicked out from the wall with full strength. She flipped onto the top of the crypt, landing unsteadily and then falling to her hands and knees when Oz charged straight into the side of the crypt. The impact echoed like cannon fire through the night.

A low, warbled howl drifted up from below and Buffy watched the werewolf stagger beside the crypt, disoriented. He shook his head and leant into the cracked stone for support.

Buffy took her chance and jumped down to the ground drawing her sword in both hands and pulling it back to swing.

She aimed to cut the backs of his knees with the intended effect of forcing him to fall to the ground and her stroke connected just as Oz suddenly lunged toward her.

The sword slid through the his abdomen with more ease than Buffy expected and she was momentarily caught up in the horror of what she had just done, leaving enough time for an enraged Oz to strike her down with a vicious backhand. She fell hard, blades of dead grass prickling the bare skin of legs as she stared wide eyed at the impaled werewolf. The creature staggered and his new position gave Buffy a grisly view of the shaft of the sword, jutting from Oz's back with a crimson sheen staining its protruding length. She watched in horror as Oz stared down at the hilt pointing out of his chest, then taking it between elongated fingers, pulled it out in one swift tug that made him snarl in pain. The befouled sword was thrown away into the depths of the cemetery as furious yellow eyes glared down at Buffy.

Stunned and still recovering, Buffy could only watch as the wolf shambled forward with the intent to rip her apart. The werewolf took a few heavy steps before a blur of motion flew into her line of sight and smashed into the side of his head. Buffy watched as Oz, comically frozen in his attacking pose, fell slowly sideways and dropped to the ground with a thud. Buffy slowly hefted herself up, cautiously keeping an eye on the werewolf's prone body as she got her breath back. She wiped the trickle of blood running from the edge of her mouth as she watched the steady rise of his furry chest and when Oz made no movement that would suggest he was preparing to get back up, Buffy relaxed and turned to seek out the source of the projectile that had saved her life.

Her dizziness finally clearing she started when she noticed the stone torso of a praying angel floating eerily where Oz' head had been a moment ago. Her eyes drifted to a presence she felt nearby and her cautious gaze found Willow stood with outstretched arms.

"That was bigger than a pencil." Buffy commented with ragged breath, "Thanks..." Her complimentary tone faltered as she saw the dismayed look on the witch's face.

She followed her eyes to the ground and inhaled sharply when she saw a pale and bloodied body where a monster had lain seconds before. Oz' chest was no longer moving.

The broken angel dropped to the ground with a muted thud.

* * *

After two hours of absolutely no action, Faith had reached the threshold of her sanity. The first hour had been spent stalking Sunnydale Cemetery end to end. The second hour had lacked the sophisticated technique of the first and had mostly comprised of Faith shouting and cursing very loudly by the angelic statue where she had first seen something weeks before. Her voice was hoarse by the time she figured out that antagonization wasn't going to get her a one-to-one with her biggest fan.

The Sunnydale Cemetery covered a large plot of land, with extensive woodland in parts and even an impressive lake at its center. Faith currently sat on the roof of a mausoleum that bordered that lake, staring across the expanse of shimmering black water as she listened to the frogs sing to each other in the dark. Her heels drummed an idle rhythm against the crypt's ancient stone as they hung over the edge, her mind lost in thought. Faith knew it didn't matter if she went home or stayed till the sun crept over the horizon; either way she was just as likely to have her next unwanted encounter. At least in the vast grounds of Sunnydale's largest cemetery the dead were the only ones that would be disturbed. Facing it alone meant nobody else getting hurt. And if she had to wait for the thing to come to her then she'd do it with a view.

A twinge of guilt caused a frown to pull at her lips as she thought of Buffy; halfway across the sleeping town; who was now probably very aware of the fact that she had lied. It wasn't right to misuse the expected trust between them but earlier Faith had only seen a haze of red and any thoughts of the hurt and betrayal she might cause had been far and small from her concerns.

She had been trying with all her strength to handle the situation in the best way she could. The night before had left her a husk drained of any lingering temptation to display the vulnerable parts of herself. The drive had calmed her to an extent, leaving the house had done wonders for loosening the tight knot of tension she'd developed in her chest over those hours spent glaring into the darkness of her bedroom till the first rays of sunlight had appeared.

But all it took was the sight of Buffy to bring the flood of emotions rolling back in; the frustration, pain, longing and the self-deprecation that came with it. Then anger, the pillar to which she always seemed to lean against, rose to drown the others out. Because being angry was always easier than dealing with her stickier emotions. She'd embraced it then, brought it with her to Giles' house and let the discovery there feed its flames. The lack of a target for her anger and frustration had left her biting at Buffy and the others. It wasn't something she was particularly proud of but it was easier and safer than using one of them as a personal punching bag. She would no doubt have to account for her stinging comments tomorrow. But now it had long taken its toll, only the embers were left and she was emotionally exhausted to the point of numbness.

Now she felt a strange guilt for Giles' circumstances and berated herself over all the things she could have done to prevent it. What if she'd put up a half decent fight in the alley? What if she hadn't been so overwhelmed with hands just like Buffy's exploring her body and seen through the act? What if she could have taken that thing out there and then in the bathroom? Regret wasn't a concept she was big on, it never seemed advantageous to dwell on the past and it always proved too painful in her case. Buffy had changed her in that respect, not so much with regretting things she had or should have done, but instilling her with a need to do better, to live up to her potential. She wanted to match Buffy's example and impress her for it; though acknowledging that fact often irritated the hell out of her.

Now she wanted to wait for the inevitable; to stand by the lake until something ominous came slinking out of the shadows and gutted her on the spot, smiling all the while. She would gladly take death over facing whatever treat the thing had in store for her next. Maybe she'd see a haunting impression of her drunken mother in the middle of the night, waking her up by the pull of her hair. The thought alone made Faith close her eyes and force down the urge to shudder. She felt utterly unprepared for this enemy's methods. The closest she'd come to physically hurting it had resulted in a damaged leg and nearly being crushed to death. One big, unfeeling hand squeezing until there was nothing left of her; a fitting analogy of her life so far, she thought bitterly.

A distant sound echoed across the lake's dark surface and Faith's head lifted a fraction to listen. When silence fell again, save for the drone of insects and occasional burst of frog-song from the reeds below, she dropped her gaze back to the vast black mirror sprawled across the cemetery. She picked up another stone to skip across its surface when a hideous shriek ripped through the night.

It did not sound human.

This was it. The slayer hesitated for a good minute, frozen by a fear she still hadn't been able to shake since the night in this very cemetery weeks ago. But then her legs were moving before she was aware of it, racing her toward the source of the sound. It didn't take long for the sounds of a commotion to be heard up ahead and Faith's head perked up in the direction of voices and bursts of static sound. She moved slower now, traversing stealthily over a series of crypts toward what was clearly some kind of confrontation. As the voices and occasional shriek got louder and distant movement appeared on the slayer's peripheral vision, she ducked low, weaving between headstones with soundless grace.

She eventually found herself edging toward a clearing where a trio of armed men in military gear were fighting some serpentine horror the likes of which Faith had never seen before. From the bodies littered around the space, Faith assumed things were not going in their favor. It took her a moment to recognize the men as the same kind of soldiers she and Buffy had seen running through the college campus when Oz had had his impromptu transformation. A startled shout alerted her to duck just in time as a body flew in her direction and connected with a statue behind her with a disconcerting crunch. Grimacing, she looked back to the two remaining soldiers. One was scrambling across the ground for his gun and just as his fingers brushed the weapon, three of the creature's hands grabbed hold of both legs and his head respectively. Smiling all the while, it pulled the legs one way and the head the other. Faith had to look away at the resulting mess as the two halves of what had once been a man flew in opposite directions.

"Oh god..." She heard the remaining soldier moan weakly. He fired a few desperate rounds at the approaching monster as it slowly and deliberately crawled over the gravestones that lined the perimeter of the clearing like a giant, demented centipede. The hitched hissing breath that gushed between its gleaming teeth sounded unmistakably like mocking laughter. The maniacal sound only got louder as he vainly attempted to find a route of escape, blindingly white eyes watching him stumble around. The soldier slapped at his chest to receive a radio transmitter and in a terrified state, pleaded frantically into the little black box, "This is Delta team, all available squads respond! Hostile located-we need back up! This is Jackson, repeat, we need ba-arrrghhaack-!" The soldier's scream gurgled in his throat as a dozen slick, black hands grabbed hold of him and bent him backwards at the hip in one quick movement. His body formed an unnatural crab walk before slumping into the grass. The sound of his breaking spine still echoed horribly in Faith's head.

The silence that followed pressed hard on her ears, her heart a steady cautious thump as she listened for a sign of impending attack. She could just make out the sound of the thing moving around the clearing. She risked peeking over the headstone to see the nightmarish centipede turned away from her, hunched over the last soldier's body.

Its huge head swung up and stared off to the right. It inhaled deeply for a moment before its jaw swung open and it let out a sibilant croak of excitement. Faith attempted to make her body as small as possible, watching as it continued to stare off to the right, the upturn of its mouth giving the appearance of a hungry smile. It began to slink off into the dark, its head still focused to the side. It picked up speed and the end half of it disappeared quickly beyond the gravestones. She would have thought it long gone if it hadn't been for its white eyes glowing in the distance. Faith didn't dare move till she saw them vanish into the woods.

It took Faith a few minutes to work up the courage to breathe normally, a rush of air escaping her trembling lips. She was shaking and she had no idea why. Chilled to the bone it took a moment for the humidity in the air to register again as Faith stood and stepped into the grisly scene with extreme caution. The smell of blood was almost overpowering. Faith turned in a slow circle and tried to get her brain to work so she could decide her next move. She had been so eager to jump headfirst into a fight with this thing and now her instincts were telling her to get as far away from here as possible.

Before she could come to a decision she heard the distinct rustle and crunch of leaves underfoot and quickly spun around in a defensive stance. Her eyes scanned the patches of black between the trees as she listened to her heart beat accompany the approaching footsteps. Suddenly, having backup didn't seem like such a bad idea.

A group of figures quickly rushed forward from between the trees and Faith drew her sword back.  
Faith's eyes flew from one soldier to the next. Their faces were hidden by full-face balaclavas and strange goggles that the slayer assumed must have been of the night-vision variety.

"Hey...steady on, guys." She started slowly, "This really isn't what it looks like."

"Drop the weapon!" The apparent leader of the group ordered.

"You're one to talk." Faith's eyebrow curved upward as she eyed the bulky firearm he was holding, "I'm lookin' practically medieval over here." She gestured to her broadsword in comparison to the modern firearms the men possessed. Nevertheless, she slowly lowered the sword and let it drop harmlessly to the ground.

"She's not a vampire. Heat signature's too high." Said a soldier who was pointing a strange device at Faith and viewing a small screen on his end. "But she is warmer than the human norm."

"Does that line work on all the girls?" Faith asked the stoic soldier who was still pointing his equipment in her direction.

"Is that enough to make her threat?" One of the other soldiers inquired to their team leader.

"She's the only suspect left standing in what's left of Delta. Do you wanna let her go?"  
That seemed to unanimously unite them and the group quickly began to form a circle around her, subtly drawing metal batons or guns from their holsters.

"Five against one? My lucky night." Faith chuckled humorlessly the innuendo failing to alleviate the tension building in her chest as she sized up the five men who were clearly oblivious to whom and what she was. She watched the leader extend his baton with a flick of his wrist. "Unless you boys had something else in mind? Hardly a fair fight." Faith feigned a look of disappointment as her fists rose readily in front of her chest. Her solemn expression turned into a challenging leer as she added, "Get five more of your buddies and then you might stand a chance."

Faith wanted them to walk away. She wanted them to make the logical choice, realize she clearly wasn't the killer here and leave her with a caution. They could even knock her out with sleeping gas like in action movies she'd seen, as long as it meant no one ending up dead.

Two rushed at her simultaneously from either side, but if they had hoped to catch her off-guard they were left disappointed as one flew back from the impact of a chest-high kick and the other staggered away with a broken nose. Faith lowered her elbow and smiled back at the soldier as he bemoaned his injury, his cries of pain muffled through his mask.

"Who's next?"

The leader approached with much more caution than the previous two had. Faith tutted as she shook her head. "I'd hate to make you look bad in front of your boys, handsome." She dodged two precise swings of his baton, back-flipped onto her hands then threw her momentum forward, using both feet to propel him sailing through the air. Landing on her feet she brushed grass from her palms and cocked her head to regard his fallen body. "Doesn't mean I won't."

She matched the next attacker blow for blow, easily slapping away his aggressive punches before picking him up and throwing him across the clearing into another soldier who had been about to shoot at her. A bolt of electricity shot up into the air from the end of his weapon as the soldier was thrown backward by his teammate's weight.

"Wicked! Where can I get one of those?" Faith asked with eyes as big as a kid's on Christmas day. She grabbed a soldier attacking her from the side by the face and effortlessly shoved him away, not once glancing away from the mother of all tasers. Another baton-wielder came her way and Faith effortlessly twisted his wrist as he went to strike, grabbing the falling club and using it to knock his legs from under him. She discarded the blunt weapon by throwing it into the face of the soldier she'd previously thrown. He'd been in the middle of getting to his feet but cried out as the metal stick struck him in the forehead and fell gracelessly to his knees.

"At least act like your heart's in it!" Faith's grin was immense as she hopped on the spot, fists raring for more. "Startin' to think you guys aren't so-"

A force akin to a sledgehammer colliding against her spine sent a violent shudder through her body and Faith let out a surprised shout of immense pain that tailed off into a whimper as her body went stiff and she plummeted to the ground. Her body convulsed and twitched as she was rendered helpless, unable to stop her limbs and face from going into uncontrollable spasm. Her last view was of the soldiers crowding around her, the nearest lowering their rifle and sliding a hand up to their ear.

She strained to hear the leader's warbling voice as it echoed in her head. "-found a new kind...hostile. Requesting permission to...back to base?"  
Faith willed herself to stay conscious pushing up from the ground with her remaining strength. She attempted to form words but the muscles in her face refused to work, her double-vision forming a kaleidoscope of dark colors. Another powerful jolt rocked her body and her eyes rolled up into a world of black.


End file.
